


Shadowed Moon

by Heartfelt_Memories



Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age - All Media Types, Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: Angst and Fluff and Smut, Elvhen Pantheon, Elvhenan, F/M, Insecurity, Magic, Modern Girl in Thedas, My First Fanfic, Please Don't Hate Me, Secret Identity, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-11
Updated: 2019-06-22
Packaged: 2019-10-08 07:14:39
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 9
Words: 37,039
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17382080
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Heartfelt_Memories/pseuds/Heartfelt_Memories
Summary: According to the Ralaferin clan Elgar'nan created the sun and Mythal created the moon, little did they know the moon was a woman. With her new name, Evuna, was sent to this world by Mythal in hopes of stopping the Dread Wolf from destroying the world. Armed with the knowledge of the events of the dragon age from her previous life, knowledge of things she could not know and the body of one of the ancient immortals in the time of Arlathan. What could possibly go wrong?





	1. The Beginning

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first fanfiction of sorts so please don't hate me.  
> I don't have a good text program like Microsoft word. I only have Notepad to type on and online grammar checkers so I'm terribly sorry if this fic sounds funny. I wrote this as a way to get the story out of my head and on to paper as I daydream of multiple stories everyday and this helps a bit. I will try to update when I can between work and life. Hopefully you'll like it a bit and if you have any ideas or comments, either bad or good I'd love to hear them.

She had been having this reoccurring dream, all of her life. It started with the feeling of flying very fast through a tube that was a very tight squeeze, blackness all around, going faster, faster, the tube becoming tighter and tighter then stop. Nothing is moving, the tightness is still there but now she can hear voices, whispers. When she tried to focus on the voices the tightness would become worse but the effort let her hear a glimpse of the conversation, "she's not ready yet, she does not know." then it feels like being compressed too far, not painful but too much for her mind to handle so then she blackouts in her dream, fading away to a more peaceful sleep.

The dream never worried her as it only occurred once every couple of years. Catching small pieces of the conversation just out of hearing every time, and every time feeling like a small victory. But as she got older and discovered the dragon age games from one of her best friends, the dream became more consistent. Some times vivid lucid dreams of places only in the video game occurred, except the places such as skyhold, haven, and all the others were much larger, more realistic and detailed. Of course it was just because she had overplayed the game and her subconscious is filling in the gaps, but it felt so real, even down to the nip of the cold on her nose and the small flower always in the same spot, somehow growing through the stone wall of skyhold. 

Every time she played the game, she felt right, as if she had always known the game, but she knows it to be just her obsession and love of fantasy nothing more. And when she finished playing trespasser, reading every codex possible along the way, hearing the dread wolfs plan, she had an uneasy feeling afterwards. 

"He is going about it the wrong way!" she explains to her friend, after finally having enough courage to put herself through the emotional end game of trespasser.

"If he truly goes along with his plan it could be a major catastrophic event, It could easily backlash, all of that fade energy that has build up over the millennia from the veil holding it back could turn out being a nuke to the world killing all life, possibly even killing him unknowingly. Even if he lives that, he could possibly even go mad with the guilt of an entire world on his shoulders, the repercussions are way too high!"

"Woah, maybe Evie, his whole, "I'm tearing down the veil" thing is pretty crazy, on my last play through I basically told him to shove it" Emily giggled to herself, one of her best friends that she had known most of her life. The only one she could truly ramble all of the thoughts and theory's of the game to without being given a weird look, after all Emily was the one to introduce the game to her. 

"Maybe he will go mad evil in the next game, who knows, maybe he will even have a pet nug, but I ain't gonna let that all and powerful egg, end the world for his crazy old elves, screw you egg!" She yells into the phone. 

"I would not mind doing that actually" Evie smirks

"Eww, gross, I'll stay with Cullen thank you, he, at least doesn't chop off your hand and run away with it" Emily cringes" Anyway think I might pass out now since I gotta work early in the morning. I'm so happy you finally finished inquisition, and now know why I hate Solas so much, stupid egg, anyway Night night Evie see ya tomorrow yeah?"

"Yeah will do and thanks for listening to my ramblings as per usual, ahh well goodnight Emily, sweet dreams." She hung up glad she could get some of her pent up emotions out about the events of trespasser but still she mulled over the events. The uneasy feeling still hasn't gone away even after hours of playing the game. She decided to make herself some hot chocolate, with a bit of mint, It usually calms her senses when she feels like this, but it could not be helped, so instead of worrying too much about it she finally went to bed hoping it would go away after some sleep. 

The dreams happened again tonight as they have been happening every night for the last couple of weeks, except this time the dream felt heavier. As she sped through the darkness for what felt like hours, she swore she started seeing glimpsed of swirling green, only for a quick second out of the corner of her eye, then gone. Is she going mad? How long has she truly been here for? The dream is normally over by now and then she would be dreaming of skyhold, walking its hallways, with the noise of her footsteps echoing down the hall and distant voices chattering, here there was no noise, only the deafening silence. After a time the green swirls seemed to become brighter and more often fading in and out, seeming to swirl around her body occasionally almost as if to gently introduce themselves, her body tingling every time it did so. Then the green became more frantic, brighter and brighter swirling in a quick delicate dance around her body. Her body constricting and tightening like a million hands trying to squeeze her through a tiny hole, a blinding white light then everything shatters, she feels as if she is everywhere but not, an intense tingling feeling deep inside her core and electricity coursing all over her. It all of a sudden shifts, and now it feels like her being is being picked up from all over the place and being shoved into something, but it feels right and feels like home, so she allows it to happen, piece by piece she goes and just as the last part of her enters she breathes for the first time for what felt like centuries, with real lungs and a heartbeat, but then it becomes all too much and she falls into a deep slumber. 

As she slowly wakes she takes her time to remember her dream from last night, rolling over and pulling the covers up. Since when has her bed felt so soft? Shaking the thought away she goes back to remembering her dream. Why the change? it had been the same dream ever since she could remember and this time there were no voices, where did they go? And what about the green swirling lights? She'll write this dream down when she can and then ponder on it some more but for now she needs to get ready for work. Feeling around for her phone that she left on her bed last night, she comes to the conclusion she must have kicked it off the bed so she sits up. Bleary she blinks the sleep out of her eyes and freezes. Shock runs through her body at the unfamiliar bedding, her bed was indeed softer as it was not her own. Instead of her measly double bed mattress, she was staring at a bed that looked to be fit for a king. Golden embroidery and intricate designs were all over the soft quilt cover in the shape of a branching tree. This is definitely not her bed. She racked her memory for anything that could explain her situation but all she remembers is going to sleep and having her intense dream. After looking at the bed covers for awhile in confusion she decided to at least get some bearings of her surroundings, just as she expected from the look of the bedding, she was in a quite expensive looking master bedroom, but by far grander than any room she could possibly imagine. 

Across from her was a roaring marble fireplace carved in to the shape of a tree with different carved animals, some she has never seen before, at the base of the tree with gems of varying colours embedded into their eyes. The rest of the room was much similar to the level of grandeur the fireplace was, with gold and green accents all over the room. The most spectacular part of the room however was the ceiling as crystal looked as if it were growing out from the ceiling, glowing a perfect amount of light to see. Who could afford something like this and then let someone they don't know sleep in such a room? Too many questions are running through her head but not enough answers. With this revelation, she decides to uneasily get out of bed, taking off the quilt cover to reveal a completely different body, no longer curvy with thick thighs and a nice tan from her holidays, now she was slender, porcelain skin tone and dressed in a soft thin night dress. 

"What the actual fuck?"

Just as she was about to have a full blown panic attack, the golden doors of her bedroom open revealing a woman wearing a deep maroon dress with gold embroidery and a ruby circlet adorning her golden long hair. She held herself as if she was of great importance but Evie could not stop staring at her ears once she saw them, pointed, like the elvhen. Surely she is loosing her mind if she is imagining such things, was her mint she put in her hot chocolate last night actually some kind of hallucinogenic maybe? The elvhen woman walked into the room, pleased at something unknown. 

"By the look of your staring you are not used to seeing my kind in person, take heed, you should get used to it as you are also, indeed elvhen" The woman spoke gesturing toward a mirror to observe.

Stunned Evie looked at the woman suspiciously, what was she trying to play at? She was definitely not elvhen but then her body was a completely different shape altogether, being elvhen as well wouldn't be too far off. So she slowly got up on her feet but felt dizzy instantly and had to sit back down. It was as if she hadn't walked a day in her life.

"It may take some time for you to be used to your new body so take your time my child. I forgot how frail and weak the body can be when first created, here let me help you"

The woman walked over and with a gentle touch helped Evie stand up and hobble over to the large mirror. She inhaled in shock at her appearance as bright green almond eyes stared back at her with silvery white long hair that framed her face, which was similar to how she looked but more sharper and defined, and of course she saw her ears, tapered to a point. Tentatively she touched her ears, the lightest touch making tingles go down her spine, "Sensitive" she muttered to herself. All in all she was quite beautiful, it was as if someone enhanced her best features and made the perfect body out of it. Then the woman spoke.

"There are clothes you may choose from through that door there. When you are ready and capable to walk come find me, I'll be just across the hall" she started to walk away 

"Wait, who are you?"

The woman turned around and smiled "Oh, have you not guessed already? I thought It was quite obvious, never mind you may call me Mythal. Welcome to Elvhenan Evuna"

And with that she left, leaving Evie to stare at the door after her, gobsmacked and rattled to the bone. And why did she call her Evuna?


	2. New World

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Evuna learns how to walk again and questions Mythal.

"Welcome to Elvhenan Evuna"

Mythal closes the door, and Evie collapses to the ground, the weight of her words too much to stand for. Staring down at her shaking hands that are alien to her, " Fuck, what, how?" too many thoughts are going through her head, "What if I accidentally change time with my being here? Is this just a dream? Is this all real or am I hallucinating? How will I survive the veil going up? What if I accidentally magic something, how do you do magic, I do have magic don't I? all elvhen had magic, what if..." she stops short as she begins to hyperventilate. 

"Okay Evie deep breaths" She wheezes, taking deep breaths to calm herself and counting to ten to distract her mind from her erratic thoughts. Stressing about these problems now are going to lead her no where, for now she needs answers and those answers are just outside that door. Stuffing her worries away for now she takes a deep breath and shakily tries to stand again, at one point almost face planting the floor but finally she is upright. Swaying from side to side she closes her eyes to try to stop the sudden dizziness from standing upright, slowly it fades and she tentatively opens her eyes. "Walking lessons first, clothes second" she says to no one. Walking over here wasn't too bad with Mythal's help, a bit disorientating perhaps but now it will be a challenge to get back over to the bed in one piece.

Slowly she puts one foot forward, the dizziness at the shift of body-weight not too bad. 

"One small step for elvhen, one giant leap for elvhen kind" she said in a deep voice. Laughing she almost losses her balance again "Okay maybe focusing on walking is a bit more important" 

Slowly she takes wobbly steps towards the end of the bed and with her last step she felt more confident in herself, the dizziness less disastrous than before. Using the bed like a safety net she walked laps around the bed, a few times becoming unbalanced. After an hour of walking, she seemed to feel confident that she wouldn't accidentally make a fool out of herself with her fumbling around. 

Gathering herself she makes her way over to the carved door Mythal mentioned, the door itself had carvings of elvhen in a scene with some half nude and draped in flowing fabrics, seemingly frightened by a large wolf in the dark of the forest stalking the frightened elvhen, but with one elvhen woman reaching towards the wolf unafraid. The detail was by far impossibly detailed reminding her of a renaissance painting. Opening the door she comes face to face with a complete other room with shelves, mannequins and racks upon racks of clothes. How could she possibly choose just one? Slowly scanning the room, passing areas of beautiful armor, menswear and night wear all of expert make, she makes her way to an area with more feminine like clothing. Not wanting something too elaborate, she chooses a pair of surprisingly well-fitting, dark leather pants and an emerald blouse with silver flowers decorating the edges. 

Clothing figured out she walks out of the wardrobe, slightly stumbling on the way and takes a look at herself in the mirror and sees her new hair in a mess, too distracted from her first look at herself to have noticed before. Pulling out all the knots loosely with her fingers she plaits her hair to the side so she looks at least somewhat presentable to the woman considered a god to the elvhen people. With that, double checking her appearance is presentable she stares at herself in wonder, poking her face sometimes to make sure it is real and doing a few turns to check out the rest of herself."Am I immortal like the rest of them?"she wonders while staring at her pointed ears "At least I look fairly decent". After she had finished gawking at herself she decided its time to find Mythal to get her answers. 

Taking her first peek outside from her room she noticed the hallways are just as extravagant as her rooms, every door similar to hers with different scenes carved into each door, but the door she was to go through in front of her was the most extravagant. With gold highlights throughout the carved scene, a group of elvhen people gathered around a woman with a dress made of rubies and her hands outstretched to the people. No mistaking which room Mythal may have meant then. Slowly she exits into the empty hallway to open the door but as she went to reach out for the door knob it opened itself, revealing Mythal lounging upon a settee with a glass of wine in her hand, swirling it around in thought.

"So you have finally made yourself presentable girl, take a seat as I'm sure you have many questions upon your whereabouts" Mythal said lazily, attempting to create a calming atmosphere but it just put Evie on edge" 

Mythal/Flemeth in-game did not ooze trust and was a terror on Morrigan, playing mind games on her constantly and apparently being a terrible mother as Morrigan said. But this is Mythal in her true body, perhaps the merging of Mythal and Flemeth's souls had corrupted them with their need for vengeance and that is why she acted as she did in-game, for there must be a reason the elvhen call her the all mother. Sitting down on another settee across from Mythal, Evie looked into the fire for a few moments to gather herself, with a deep breath she began her questioning.

"Why am I here?"

"Straight to it then I see, I brought you into this world as I'm sure you are aware of future events. The Wolf will ultimately destroy the world in his rush to save the people. I do not know the specific events that lead to it as the visions are always quite vague but I have seen the destruction. I have looked for you for a long time, from world to world I searched in the fade for a soul capable of transitioning to this world and able to withstand the hardships you shall face, including saving the wolf from his foolish decision and from himself"

Nervous about the task Mythal had given her she looks to her hands as if it will soothe her racing thoughts, after some thought she asks "Why is my soul so special, I'm sure there are people quite similar to me that would have worked out better than I"

"Yours has a spark, a spark that is brighter than all the others as most have none at all. You should also know the world is harsh and will kick you while your down, but you i believe are capable to divulge which souls to place your trust in quite easily. As I'm sure you know, it's better to know who you can trust than to get a kick in the guts." she smirked to herself. Looking at her wine for sometime, she finally takes a sip.

"Okay then what is with the name and why do I feel like I'm speaking a different language, If I am speaking elvhen then how? Since I definitely did not know how to speak it till now." she says while fidgeting with her fingers

Finally looking at her instead of her wine Mythal explains "Your name means moon as you shall be the light leading the people out of the shadows. The name is also closest to your original name. As for your understanding of our language, your soul came into this world with a spirit of knowledge giving you all their knowledge, but you also were given something unexpected. A piece of the fade resides inside your heart, giving you your green eyes. I do not know how this will affect you but it will be interesting to see the outcome." looking at Evuna in curiosity

"That is quite unnerving to know, how can you be sure it won't kill me?" she looks to Mythal hoping she isn't a ticking time bomb waiting to explode. 

"I don't, only time will tell. But you are with us now, that is surely promising." Mythal says, swirling her wine glass once more in thought. 

Feeling concerned for her safety Evie asked her next question "Since you brought me here are you going to bind me to your will like all the other elvhen that worship you" Evie sneered in disgust

Mythal laughed " No my dear I could not even if I tried, you are far too strong-willed, but I do not bind my people or control their dreams, their will is their own. The only people bound to me are the ones that wish to out of their own heart. The same cannot be said for the other Evanuris, they control the people's dreams and are bound forever to their god."

Mythal pauses here sitting up straight and taking a more serious tone "Evuna you're safe for the time being but if the Evanuris discovered your existence, you'll become little more than a husk. You must train to become a shadow so you can save the people without them knowing. You may help the wolf but he also cannot know who you are as the Evanuris will use it against him and you would be none the wiser on how it happened."

Evie took some time to reply, processing the information Mythal had given her, If she truly has to become a shadow to protect the people and Solas then she would.

"I'm not sure that I'll be capable of doing such a feat but if it means I'll be able to protect the people from their own destruction then I'll do it." 

"Excellent, now if you'd follow me its time I show you to your teacher" Mythal stood up, putting her wine glass down she glided to the entrance, the doors opening themselves yet again. 

Curious on who shall be teaching her Evuna followed. Walking down the hallways seeing things that even she could never dream of. Some pieces of artworks were truly remarkable and looked as if they moved as she walked by. In one room she swore she saw a dragon sleeping with an elvhen woman tending to the dragons scales. After some walking Mythal spoke.

"I know this is all quite disorienting for you but it is vital you learn how to disguise yourself in every way possible before you can have time to process being in this world. As you can never know when the Evanuris like to pop in and visit. They shall not try for a couple of days as I have stopped access to my temple and have made my excuses to them. But even that does not stop them sometimes." Mythal explained as she walked outside of the temple with Evie.

What Evie saw once she stepped outside however was breathtaking. The temple had such beautiful architecture, small and large dragons were flying nearby, a waterfall could be heard in the distance and the gardens were unlike anything she had ever seen before, but the thing that really did her in was the sky, it was a mixture between blues and greens swirling around each other and together in an ever so slow dance. Walking down the steps with Evuna gaping at the world around her, they both found themselves at a small clearing, clearly made into a training ground with various types of weapons nearby and dummies to hit. 

"Evuna I'd like you to meet Lahlas . He will be your teacher in everything you need to know."Mythal said introducing Evie to an elvhen man with wispy white long hair in a plait down his back with a green vallaslin upon his brow and golden eyes. Somehow she felt like she had seen him before somewhere.

"Nice to meet you Evuna, I'm sure you will be adequate in disguising yourself in no time if you follow my teachings correctly." Lahlas said

Evuna almost doesn't speak in shock of who Lahlas was, she would know that voice anywhere. It was a younger Abelas here and not as sorrowful as he was in inquisition. The game did not compare to how he truly looks with his facial features much more defined and lifelike.

"Pleased to meet you A- Lahlas."

Mythal then spoke " You shall start your training now and shall not stop until you can properly hide your mana from the rest of the world to see, come see me once you have and good luck." And with that Mythal left leaving Evie with Lahlas, becoming a bit excited at the prospect of using her magic, she asked.

"Where do we begin"

"Now" Abelas replied

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Abelas has a different name as I believe when Mythal died he changed his name to Abelas as he was heavy dedicated to Mythal and her protection and when she died he was full of sorrow so he named himself that. ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯
> 
> Lahlas --> voice of hope  
> Abelas --> sorrow
> 
> Also my chapters are not too big at the moment sorry. I will try to make them better in later chapters once the story gets more interesting, for now it will be a lot of talking with Evuna adjusting to the world she is in.


	3. Reality Check

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lessons with Abelas and self reflection.

Evuna was feeling excited, concerned and a bit disoriented. She was expected to use magic, something people of her world would dream of having and now it shall be her constant companion. What if it all backfires and she hurts someone? what were the limits to magic of this world? It is quite unnerving and on top, it feels all too surreal for her, constantly wondering when she was going to wake up. 

"To begin, you must become acquainted with your magic. Open your senses, look into yourself and tell me what you see." Lahlas explained, beginning her lessons.

Unsure if anything will happen she does as Abelas says closing her eyes and taking a few deep breaths. At first nothing happens, being too distracted from the noises of wildlife, the breeze rustling the leaves in the tree and the most distracting part, feeling Abelas/Lahlas penetrating gaze upon her. 

"Relax child or you'll be here for a millennia" 

Hearing his words she tries to relax a bit more and empty her mind. The steady flow of her breathing slowing down, the sound of water in the distance calming her nerves. After a few more moments of distraction from the outside world and her own thoughts, she miraculously finds a peaceful calm. Looking within herself now, she feels something like a tingly swirling warmth from within her body. Feeling like she needed to do something she touched it with her mind. As quick as lightning her body suddenly became energised and pleasantly tingly like a comforting blanket all over her body, and her soul felt whole for the first time.

Evie in her previous life on earth always had this haunting feeling that there was something wrong with the world, something was missing from her everyday life. She had read all the self-help books and blogs about the notion but it didn't click with what she felt deep down. But upon this moment the world around her finally felt complete and she could see the world in colour again. She opened her eyes in tears, the feeling of magic swirling within her body feeling like her first satisfying breath, and now she was truly alive.

"This is .. . so damn amazingly beautiful, you guys feel this all the time? My gods!" She couldn't believe how real and amazing everything felt, while Lahlas had a confused expression on his face.

"I see you do not need to be shown how to tap into your mana wells, but I'm curious, you have not felt magic before?"

"No never, I would recall a feeling like this if I had. My world is not magical at all like this"

"Your world must be quite barbaric then" Lahlas says with disgust

"Oh no it is all quite modern with all the technological advances it has, we just do things without magic" 

"Interesting if true, however I believe we should continue your lesson as we have only just begun." Lahlas says with mild intrigue upon his face "Now that you have tapped into your mana you should delve deeper within yourself to check how large your manna wells are. Once they become depleted you shall need to draw from the fade to replenish your energy"

"Or replenish your energy as it is being depleted" Evuna blurts out unsure where that came from

"Correct, now if you will, see to your mana wells"

Slightly embarrassed she looks within herself again seeing the swirling energy within her body but she goes deeper, and deeper feeling as if she is falling down a well of energy with no bottom, after a bit of time searching within herself for the bottom Lahlas becomes impatient.

"Have you found the depths of your mana yet child or are you having troubles"

"I can't find the bottom, It just kept on going."

"This was expected, It just means you have a large mana pool, more so than others. Moving on we shall now direct ourselves to your aura. Your aura is your magical signature, with everyone having their own unique aura. Your focus at the moment will be to feel your own aura and to control it."

Knowing how to feel your aura usually on earth she looks upon her own aura and it feels... big, like real big and touching everything around it with a gentle warmth to it if that's even possible. Her aura now felt like her second arm, she could touch and inspect everything around her just with the wave of her aura. Curious what Lahlas' aura felt like she lightly touched it, It felt like the earth, sunlight and petrichor with an undertone of surprise. All of a sudden Lahlas' aura withdrew, opening her eyes she sees he is quite surprised.

"I see you are proficient in manipulating your aura as well. Know though that looking upon another persons aura shouldn't be taken lightly as it shows our emotions. Opening ones aura is usually only limited to friends, family and loved ones. If you do let someone with malice take old of your aura they could potentially crumple you like an autumn leaf unless you know how to stop such attacks."

"Like forcing their aura back with your own or putting up a barrier cutting them off instantly" Evune says out loud, the random knowledge spilling from her tongue a bit jarring.

"Indeed now it seems you have your aura under control you need to learn to withdraw it and keep inside yourself, as it is one indicator of how large your mana is if one is given the chance to look deeper upon your aura."

Evuna does so, somehow knowing what to do she makes sure it's coiled up nicely in her solar plexus. The whole, knowing exactly what do to thing becoming very disorientating

"Good now you need to hide your mana as anyone would see your power if you continued like so. You should create a barrier upon your mana that should allow you to tap into it but no other"

Abelas continued in his explanation on how to do such a barrier but she just knew. Imagining a barrier protecting all the swirling energy from leaking from her body unless she wanted it to.  
Once he finished his explanation he saw she had already completed it once again.

"Knowledge maybe one thing child but once you begin defence magic you shall have to train the body as well, as knowledge can only take you so far. You have finished what Mythal required of you today but tomorrow is another day. Tomorrow you will learn to change your face and start your defence magic and I promise you, it shall not be easy. For now I will return you to Mythal" Lahlas said giving a light bow with his head and walking back the way she came. Following Evune took the small amount of time to question Lahlas.

"A-Lahlas I was wondering, where exactly are we?"

"The temple of Mythal of course"

"And where are all the other elvhen? Surely there is more than just you and Mythal here." She asked wondering why there were so few, the only other elvhen she saw being the woman tending to the dragon. The place just seemed too eerily quiet. 

"Mythal ordered her people to be scarce for the day so your awakening wouldn't be too overwhelming"

"Oh, well that's thoughtful of her" She said to herself, Mythal in question seemed quite different from Flemeth

"Indeed, The All Mother is a lot more caring of her followers than the other Evanuris" Lahlas says, pausing in thought he stops just before Mythals door to face Evuna " I do hope you shall integrate well here young one and if you are in need of my help then I am at your disposal"

"Thank you Lahlas, Its much appreciated" Evuna smiled, slightly comforted at the thought.

Lahlas then replied with a nod, "I will come find you tomorrow for the mornings lessons but for now Mythal is waiting" he said as he left, leaving Evuna to face Mythal yet again.

Walking toward the doors she noticed they did not open themselves this time, slightly confused she knocked. Mythal opened the door.

"Ahh good to see you have finally mastered it, I did not feel your presence at all. Come " Mythal ushered walking over to the rooms she woke up in, becoming her to follow

"That's why the doors did not open themselves this time then, you did not feel my presence so did not think to open the doors" Evuna says while entering what she has come to think of as her room

Precisely my dear, you are adjusting fast with knowledge's help I see. Soon you shall weaving in between the Evanuris in no time but for now I will leave you to rest." squeezing Evuna's shoulder with care she continues "I'm sure you will need time to yourself to process and recover your energy, as traversing between worlds is no easy task."Mythal lets go, heading towards the door. Just before she goes she speaks.

"Food shall be up to your rooms soon. Sleep well Evuna, your time in this world has only just begun" she exits leaving Evuna by herself in her beautifully ornate room.

Walking over to the settee in front of the fireplace, she plops down heavily, her thoughts beginnning to weigh her down. 'I'm in thedas, how on earth did this happen?' she thinks looking into the fire in thought 'If this truly isn't a dream then this is my new life, magic and all. My old life though.... I'd miss Emily the most. I hope she is okay, if only I could tell her that I'm quite fine and alive. Maybe I won't need to worry and this is all a dream and I'll wake up in my bed tomorrow. But the magic.. It feels all too real, I could never imagine the feeling of magic running through me like that and for once, I feel right. Mythal wants me to train to defend the people and oh shit, I'm gonna have to kill people aren't I? Fuck I dunno if I'd be able to do It. Playing the game is one thing but I'm gonna have to do it for real.' Evuna monologues to herself, staring down at the palm of her hands 'What have I gotten into?'

Just then someone knocked at the door, stopping Evunas spiralling thoughts in their tracks.

"Come in" Evie stands to see who is knocking at her door. Didn't Mythal say something about food before she left?

"I've come with your dinner my lady where would you like it?" An elvhen woman with short ash blonde hair and blue eyes came into the room. Her arms full with a tray of food and drink.

"Just over here will be alright I suppose" Evune says, being a but uncomfortable and unsure what else to say.

The elvhen woman walks over to where Evie sits, beginning to unload the tray of food

"Here let me help" Evuna says, attempting to help the woman 

"Oh that's alright miss no need" she says as she unloads the last thing from her tray

Fiddling with her hands she decides to ask "What's your name if you don't mind" she wanted to know someone other than Abelas and Mythal in this new world.

"Siona my lady"

"No need for that my lady stuff, I'm Evuna. Come, sit down and tell me, what do you do around here Siona?" Evuna asks taking a seat and inviting Siona to sit as well.

Looking a bit unsure Siona slowly sits down on the other side of the settee "I do things here and there, folding linen, delivering food" she said leaving it short.

"And, what else? I'm curious as I'm quite new here" Evuna says trying to encourage Siona to speak her mind freely.

Seeing something in Evuna, Siona regains some of her confidence to speak "Well... I also like helping the chef cook for the masses. Just the little stuff you know, peeling potatoes, stirring the stew but he's teaching me how to make stuff when he can, in fact I'm going learn how to make honeyed tarts with the cook tomorrow, oh Silvhen will love them, he has such a sweet tooth." she excitedly says if a bit absent-minded

"Who is Silvhen"

Snapped from her thoughts she answered if a little embarrassed "Oh well he is my mate. He is a Sentinel so he is on guard duty most of the time. If you ever have any troubles, go to him and tell him that you know me. He is tall, green eyed, tan and really good with that sword of his" Siona whispers the last part like it was a grand secret then began to giggle at the innuendo, Evuna joining in, feeling some of her worries lessen.

"Maybe I'll learn how to handle a sword in my lessons with Lahlas" she says out loud in thought. When she looked over at Siona though she looked red, about to burst in laughter.

"What?" Evuna asks and that does it, Siona is cackling with laughter. Looking confused for a moment, she suddenly realised what she just said, going a tinge red herself she laughs at her own words

"Wait that's not what I meant" she says in between giggles

"Oh don't worry I'm sure Lahlas will let you handle his massive sword of his" Siona says raising her eyebrows suggestively, giggling some more

"I'm never gonna live this down am I" Evuna says smiling, the giggles lessening now

"Nope, maybe I'll even ask him how big his sword is for you" She winks while Evuna just looked mortified

"Oh please don't, he already thinks I'm a child. That'll just add fuel to the fire" she says lightheartedly 

"Don't worry I wont ask him, you'll just have to do it yourself. I'm sure if Silvhen heard I was asking men about their length he would have a fit"

"Most definitely" Evuna agreed a smile upon her face. 

Feeling more comfortable Siona asks "So Evuna, why are you taking lessons with Lahlas of all people?"

Unsure if telling the truth to Siona was wise she decided upon giving her a half truth at least "Because Mythal says so of course, and because I'm hopeless at defending myself"

"Ahh yes that's normally the reason for most things happening around here" Siona smiles. 

For a moment neither of them speak, unsure what to say next. Then Evuna spoke, unsure if her question was a good idea, she did not want to be a burden on Siona but something in her gut tells her it would be fine so she speaks.

"Siona, I know we have just met but I was wondering. If you have time tomorrow, could you show me around the temple after my lessons? I mean if you don't have time I understand I just..."

"Oh of course don't worry about it. Tomorrows my day off and I'd have nothing to do otherwise. Except maybe read but that's not as fun now is it?" Siona said with a cheerful smile

"Thank you so much. I really don't want to stay confined to my rooms. Or accidentally wander into a dragons mouth" Evuna says remembering the dragon she saw down the hall

"And that's quite possible with the old dragon down the hallway, he's very old and sleeps more than he does flying the lazy thing."

"Ah yes I think I may have seen him but a woman was grooming him I think? How could she do that without being eaten?"

"She was probably one of the dragon keepers. They can speak to them in a strange language that's very old and is only taught to a very selected few. I for one steer very clear from that thing, I don't trust it to not burn me into toast" Siona says, suddenly she remembers herself "Oh look at me chatting your ear off till gods know when, I'll leave now and let you finish your food"

She stands up and faces Evuna " I'll see you tomorrow at lunch yes? Is that a good time?"

"I think so, hopefully Lahlas doesn't keep at me all day with his lessons" she says unsure while Siona walks to the door.

"Well I'll come find you if it's getting late. I don't want to read books all day ya know. See you tomorrow Evuna" She smiles and waves as she goes out the door

"Bye and thank you" she yells a bit to make sure her new friend heard her. 

Her meal that she was eating during her conversation was most definitely the best food she had ever eaten. It was merely just soup and bread but the flavors were so different and exciting that she had to stop herself from moaning in pleasure in front of Siona. Maybe she will ask her for the recipe, she did like cooking a lot back home... A home she could never return to with her garden she was so proud of growing, her little nook on the windowsill she liked to sit on with a cup of minty hot chocolate while it rained outside. She was an artist as well. She used to draw upon her tablet, paint upon canvas and tattoo her art upon people's skin, Including her friend Emily. 

Emily was like a sister to her, she could ramble to her for hours on end, she used to fight with her sometimes as well but the next day they were fine and she remembers how they would always get ice cream on a Friday night and catch up on what was happening in their lives, even if they called each other every other day. 'I do hope she is okay, at least she can take care of my garden since it's all hers now' She put Emily down to take everything she owned upon her death as well as she basically had no one else she could trust. Yawning after staring at the fire for sometime lost in thought, she decides its probably time to get some rest in this strange world.

She gets up and walks to her bed, walking past the mirror she stops to stare at her appearance again 'That's gonna take some time to get used to' she thinks staring at her pointed ears again. Shaking it off she goes to her bed, taking off her clothes till she is left in her underwear. Crawling into bed, she thought some more about this world. What if her body's chemistry is vastly different from a humans. Maybe she can get some drawing utensils and continue her art as it would be good to keep her hands busy with something in her free time. If she does go to sleep, will she be dreaming in the fade or would it be the same dreams she always used to have before coming here? Maybe it truly is all just a dream and when she falls asleep she will wake up. 

And with that she tries to quiet some of her raging thoughts so she could drift off into a blissful sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Abelas/Lahlas I believe would see Evuna as a child here as she is relatively new to this world, she is not a quickling as she now has a elvhen body and the elvhen people that would be her age in elvhenan would technically be seen as children or young adults as a few centuries of life is hardly anything to the elvhen. Also there is Siona, which I think will turn to become her good friend providing some support in her new life in elvhenan.
> 
> Siona (f.) --> good and sweet. From the words: siu (sweet, not bitter) + on (good).  
> Silvhen --> someone who thinks of others before himself, lit. thought people, thought of people. From the words: sil (thought) + vhen 
> 
> I got a bit of time to make this chapter longer yay :)  
> Also I forgot to say credit for the elvhen names and such goes to FenxShirals Project Elvhen if you were unsure.


	4. Practical Magic

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Practice with Abelas and exploring the temple with Siona

Waking up, Evie rolls over snuggling deeper into the blankets once more 'so comfy. Maybe I'll just stay in bed all day' she thinks, staying like that for a little longer, enjoying the blissful warmth of the blankets before she decides she should properly wake up. Sleepily she searches for her phone on her bed again. Not finding it she opens her eyes in shock. She is still here, she was not dreaming it all and she is most definitely not going to find her phone. 

Rubbing her face she takes a deep breath and groans. 'Of course it wasn't a dream that would be too easy' she had mixed feelings about being here in Elvhenan, on one hand she is in the world she could only dream of living in and on the other hand she liked the little life she had made herself on earth. It was exciting and terrifying at the same time. Exciting that she gets to immerse herself to an entire new world of magic, but terrifying as the weight of this worlds existence is upon her shoulders. 

Getting up from her bed she decides to start her day. In her room there was another door on the other side of the room she never got to explore yesterday. Hoping it is a bathroom of some sort, she peaks inside. Sure enough it is and surprisingly looks quite modern. It had a in ground bath, a basin with a mirror and most surprising of all what looked to be a toilet. 'Well that's one less thing to worry about' closing the door she goes into the walk in wardrobe to find some clothes for the day.

Returning to the bathroom with her clothes she sets them down and examines the square bath. There were no taps so unless there is some switches somewhere on sides she was unsure how she was going to have a bath. Stepping into the bath to investigate she jumped back out of the bath in fright, as when she stepped in water began to fill the bath instantly. Pleasantly surprised she removed her underwear from last night and slipped in. The temperature was perfect, letting her feel fully relaxed for the first time coming here. 'I could get used to this'

After sometime of peaceful relaxation she reached for a bottle on the side of the bath that she assumed was some kind of body wash. Opening the crystal head of the bottle she had a whiff of what smelled to be a nice floral scent of some sort. Putting some into her hands she lathers herself in the body wash noticing for the first time the lack of body hair. Finishing up she drys herself and dresses for the day. Finishing brushing and plaiting her hair in the mirror she steps out of the bathroom wondering what today will bring, and what does Abelas mean when he said he would teach me how to change my face? 

Sitting down upon the settee she takes a good look around the room and for the first time notices a large bookshelf next to a small desk. Getting up, she walks over to the bookshelf to see what kind of books they were, and see if she can even read them. As she expected she can read elvhen as well. There were many different books, herboligy, lore, art, and most importantly magic. 'Thank you Mythal' she says to herself in approval. Just as she was about to choose one of the many books she hears a knock.

Pulling herself away from the books she wold love to read, she answers the door to Lahlas

"Good morning Evuna. Are you ready to begin today's lesson"

"Of course lead the way" she says as she would most likely get lost if otherwise.

Walking beside Lahlas down the golden hallway she asks "You said yesterday you will teach me how to change my face. What do you mean by that?" she says as they step outside, the gardens just as beautiful as they were yesterday.

"Exactly what I meant, the spell itself is known only by Mythal, a few trusted people of Mythal's and you with your given knowledge. If the Evanuris gained knowledge of it there would be utter chaos." Lahlas explained just as they reached the training yard

"Don't tell Evanuris assholes got it" Evuna said to herself mostly but she thought she saw Abelas slightly smirk at the remark, maybe it was just the light.

"Changing your face does not truly mold your flesh and bone into a different form. It is a layer of magic upon the face that stays for however long you want it there. It is called a shadow spell as it is only used by our most trusted agents in the other Evanuris' territories. They must blend into the background as seamless as a shadow as you will also" Lahlas says this all while walking over to a chest nearby. Pulling out a small mirror he hands it to Evuna

"How do I begin" she says, staring at her face in the mirror

"You first need an image of what you want your new face to look like in your head, then reach into your mana and lay the spell upon your face. I myself do not know the spell so you will have to rely upon what knowledge has taught you"

"I don't even know what knowledge has taught me but I'll try" she says unsure of herself

Looking to Lahlas he nods in approval. Gathering some of the mana she put it upon her face, the magic somewhat feeling like it twisted the air around her in order for it to work. 

"Did it work?" she said but her voice sounded different, deeper than her usual voice.

Of all things she thought were to come out of Abelas' mouth, deep laughter was definitely not what she expected.

"I don't think that is the face you were wanting to change into young one" slightly still chuckling 

Hearing his words she looked into the mirror he handed to her before and saw she had Abelas' face. From the wispy hair, his bright green vallaslin and his angular nose, it was a perfect replica. 

"No that is not what I had in mind for my face" she laughed, a deep rumbling laugh feeling quite foreign upon her lips.

Slightly embarrassed, she released the magic from her face, now looking upon her own face again.

"You must focus more on your new appearance in your minds eye. Think upon whether you with have blue or brown eyes, deep or high pitched voice. Once you have your bearings on your appearance cast the spell."

What did she want to look like, it has to look completely different from her real face. Thinking deeply while staring at her face in the mirror she seemed to be ready. Placing the spell upon her face once more, she closes her eyes to focus upon her minds picture. Hoping she did it right this time she slowly opens her eyes. She stared into the mirror looking at a completely different woman. She had long jet black hair with piercing blue slanted eyes. Touching her new face she was surprised to see it felt like it was her true face. 

"This is amazing" she said in a voice sharper than she was used to.

"Well done, now you will need to memorise every detail of your new face until it becomes second nature to you. But you may need to add one addition to your face" Lahlas said

"What's wrong with my face this time?" she says, looking to Lahlas in confusion

"Nothing at all, but you will need to add Mythal's vallaslin upon your face. If the Evanuris sees you are bare faced they will attempt to bind you to their will." Lahlas says with a serious tone

"Ahh yes that would be troublesome" she says. Looking upon her new face in the mirror see adds a light blue vallaslin of mythals upon her cheekbones. 'At least I'm not truly bound to Mythal'  
she thinks to herself.

"Now that's complete, on with your defence training." moving over to the other side of the training yard he stood a ways away from some training dummies, some made of wood, cloth and hay as usual training dummies were, but the ones Abelas were indicating to were stone statues that were black with soot, the faces hardly recognisable from the harsh conditions they were put through."before we start your defence training however, we must see what category of magic you are most attuned to. To start, attack that statue with your magic."

"Um okay then" Evuna says, unsure of the vague instruction she was given. Gathering her mana she puts herself in a stance of sort and throws her magic out at the statue dummy with the intent to attack it. There was a flash of flying green, a large crashing sound making her jump, and the statue was in pieces. Gobsmacked in shock she looked to Abelas that looked surprised himself.

"What just happened!" she shrieked "the statue isn't even a statue anymore!" pointing towards said pile of rubble 

"You seem to be a fade mage young one."Lahlas said, collecting his composure once more "You should be quite proud as fade mages are quite rare. Some can be taught fade magic yes but very few are born with it in their blood" Abelas says seeming quite proud of this discovery.

"Will you be able to teach me how to use.. it?" Evuna says, still a bit flabbergasted

"No I cannot as I am not talented in it myself. Although you should be able to find books upon fade magics in the library or you can seek knowledge in the fade about the subject" pausing in consideration he continues "In the meantime we shall begin your defence training"

"Okay what do yo.. AHH!" Evuna yells and covers her face as a ball of flame came hurdling towards her all of a sudden. Surprisingly it doesn't hit her. Opening her eyes the world around her is cast in a tinge of green while Abelas across the training yard had a suspiciously smug look upon his face.

"What was that for!" she yells at him, her heart still beating out of her chest from the fright.

"That was the beginning of your defence training. Your instincts are good but your barrier is sloppy. Again" Lahlas says just as the green barrier disappears around Evuna

'Learn quick or get burnt well that sounds like fun' Evuna thinks to herself, preparing for another ball of fire thrown at her from Lahlas.

They continued like that for sometime with Evuna being pelted by continuous fireballs and Lahlas telling her how to improve her barrier. Once she was proficient at creating a barrier he taught her how to deflect the incoming fire with her own magic instead of letting it eat at her barriers strength. It was a bit confusing and difficult as she had to throw her magic essentially at a moving object coming toward her but she felt like she was improving each time. All of a sudden a voice other than Lahlas and herself spoke from behind her.

"Excuse me Lahlas, I was told Evuna would be here and I have come to collect her for lunch. Do you know where she is?" Siona spoke, seemingly looking around the training yard for Evuna.

Evuna froze. She forgot Siona was going to come and find her and she sure didn't think she would end up in this kind of situation yesterday. She didn't think Abelas meant actually changing her face and now what is she going to say to Siona? What was she going to do? Evuna looked to Lahlas her face showing how deep in trouble she is in. Hoping he had some idea on what to do. Could she tell Siona that she is right here or will she have to pretend she never met her before? 

"You can tell her young one, she is one of Mythal's most trusted servants. She would not send her to your rooms with food if otherwise" Lahlas said inclining his head towards Siona

Evuna exhaled in relief "Thank you Lahlas" she then turned around to Siona a bit nervous "Um yes that is me" she said lamely

"Are you Lahlas now?" Siona said with her hands on her hips

"I.. no, I'm Evuna. I just kinda have a different face at the moment" Evuna said fiddling her hands as Siona started to stare at her with a piercing gaze

"Okay then Evuna" she says in a disbelieving way while crossing her arms "You wouldn't mind If I ask Lahlas a question then?"

"Um no that's alright I guess?" Evuna says a bit confused

"Now Lahlas, my dear friend here has a question for you that she has been too afraid to ask. So I will ask for her." She says with a mischievous smile appearing" Lahlas how biggggg is your....."

"NOOOO NOOO NOOO NO YOU STOP RIGHT THERE. YOU SAID YOU WOULDN'T DARE SAY THAT. I WILL TELL SILVHEN!" Evuna almost screams, going very red in embarrasment.

"Yep it's definitely you" Siona said, her mischievous smile widening before she burst into giggles

"You little shit" Evuna says trying not to smile but failing.

"And what is the question exactly?" Lahlas asked, quite confused by the women's antics

"Nothing" Evuna says almost in a squeal

"Maybe I'll ask you next time Lahlas" Siona says still in giggles "For now I'll be taking Evuna for lunch" stifling some of her giggles

"As you wish, I believe that is enough training for one day. Enjoy the rest of you day Evuna" Lahlas said in farewell

"Thank you Lahlas, I will" Evuna says, walking away with Siona at what she hopes is a normal pace, as she has to stop herself from running far away from Abelas in her embarrassment.

Once they had both walked back into the castle Evuna speaks "Never do that again or I will rat you out to Silvhen and tell him your sleeping with multiple men." she threatens Siona jokingly

"Oh you wouldn't" Siona laughs "You should have seen your face, bright red as a tomato it was" 

"Ass" Evuna mutters making Siona laugh some more

They had walked down the hallway past Evunas room now. Taking a few turns they reached a door with steps leading down, voices and other noises could be heard from further on. Entering with Siona she asks a question.

"So where are we going for lunch?"

"To where the food is made" she says as she takes the last step entering the room "the kitchen"

Elvhen men and woman were running around, utensils clicking as the stir ingredients together, chopping of ingredients, kneading dough and the heavy delicious aroma of various foods hitting her as she walked into the room. 

"What are you doing her Siona, it's your day off go and relax for once" A gruff sounding elvhen man said with a surprisingly thick bushy beard, stirring the contents of some kind of soup on the oven.

"Don't worry Eliovron, just collecting lunch for myself and Evuna here"

The elvhen man now had his gaze upon Evuna. Scrunching his face he replies.

"Never seen your face around here before, what do you do?" 

"I'm relatively new here, currently I'm training with Lahlas"

"Well if you ever become bored with that sod we can always use a few hands in here" he grunts, adding a few ingredients to the side of him to the broth.

"Thank you I will keep that in mind" she nods trying not to look too pleased at the offer. Now she has a chance to cook again. Although cooking maybe a difficult venture with all the new ingredients this world has to offer but one she is willing to try. 

"Can we have some honeyed tarts please Eliovron they are sooo good" Siona says to him from across the room. In her small talk with Eliovron she hadn't realised Siona was not with her anymore and seemed to be carrying a basket full of goods. 

"Of course Siona, you don't need to ask. Just don't take all of them like last time"

"Hey It's not my fault, I thought you had more hidden away" Siona says with a mischievous smirk 

"Sure ya did" he mutters a smile on his face as be begins to chop up some onions

Siona then took Evie by the arm and lead her out of the kitchens, saying goodbye to Eliovron as she went. Leading her up a few flights of steps they come to a door she wouldn't have seen if Siona hadn't have shown her. Entering they were now in a small garden with various blooming flowers, a small paved pathway lead to a golden fountain and just behind it was a view over the  
land that looked positively ethereal. 

"This is beautiful" She said in awe looking all around her 

"I know right, I found this little garden on my wanderings. It was quite overgrown when I first found it so I fixed it up a bit" She says while putting her basket of food down upon the edge of the fountain, pulling out bread , cheese and a jar of relish "For some reason no one ever cares to come here or forgot it's existence so its now become my own little paradise" she smiled to herself while slicing the bread and cheese, she lathers on some relish and hands it to Evuna, thanking her as she took a bite and sat down on the fountain. The flavors were quite similar to back home except for a tang of a ingredient she hasn't tasted before, leaving her mouth with a cool heat. Swallowing she speaks

"Thank you for showing me, I promise not to tell anyone of it's existence"

"Please do, I rather like it here and other people would just ruin it with their presence" she says, thinking about what she says she adds "Oh but not you, you are welcome here whenever you want, I meant other people besides us, that know about this place and...

"Don't worry, I understood what you meant" Evuna laughs

"Oh thank the gods, I didn't mean to sound like an ass" She giggled while sitting down next to her going silent as they both ate their food. 

Finishing their food, including the honeyed tarts that were just as incredible as Siona made out they were she brings out a bottle of wine that they share, the unique fruity taste leaving her warm with a pleasant tingle along her skin. A moment goes past of comfortable silence while they shared the bottle between them before Siona speaks.

"I've been meaning to show this to someone otherwise Silvhen for awhile now, but no one here is trustworthy enough to tell. You are different though. I feel like I could trust you with absolutely anything." Siona laughs nervously "I know that probably sounds silly but its true" she says looking down unsure if she should have said such a thing.

"No that's fine it actually that happens to me a lot actually" Evuna thinks back to her time on earth. most of the coworkers she used to work with at her old jobs used to spill her secrets to her not long after meeting her, afterwards they would be confused why they had placed their trust in someone they barely new. "Your feelings are accurate though, it is against my nature to betray people like that"

"That's good to hear" Siona says feeling a bit reassured, deciding to change the subject onto something else she asks "So, are you going to take up Eliovrons offer to cook with us" she nudges Evune 

"Maybe, I would really love to cook again but I'm afraid I won't be able to help much as I only cooked with limited ingredients compared to what you have here and I also have Lahlas' lessons to go to." She says, although partially incorrect, it was the only way she though she could explain her issue to Siona without blurting out that she truly did't know some of the different types of ingredients this world has to offer. Maybe she can find a book about it somewhere? 

"Don't worry, any help is great, just turn up and leave whenever you want. And maybe I can show you some of my recipes if we find some time. They aren't as good as Eliovrons but I'm still experimenting" Siona smiles, remembering something she jumps up and starts packing. "Oh I'm supposed to be showing you around the place now aren't I, there is so much to show you, Perhaps we'll catch Silvhen on our way" she says while packing away the wine and leftover food items.

"That reminds me do you have a Library here?" she says, finishing packing up with Siona and standing up

"Yes and there are plenty of books, there is a few desks and seats in there as well but I prefer to take them to my room. Come I'll show you" she says taking Evuna by the arm, leading her out of the garden.

From then on the day was a adventure. Siona first dropped her basket back down in the kitchens, thanking Eliovrons on the way. Then took her to the Library where there were a few spirits called the Librarians wondering the aisles. She explained that if Evuna was looking for a particular type of book she should ask the librarians to show her. The thought made Evuna uneasy as she had not communed with spirits before. After showing her the Library, Siona showed her the ballroom which shimmering with gold, orbs of floating light dancing upon the ceiling. Apparently they were expecting to have a grand ball next year to celebrate the ascension of Ghilan'nain. Another thing she will have to prepare herself for it seemed. 

Pulling her along Siona showed her more places within the temple including the smithery where a friendly smith was working on a fine gold armor, encrusted with sapphires with many other brilliant armors and weapons all around, some you could feel radiating with powerful enchantments that she definitely didn't touch in case it backfired on her. Wouldn't Mythal be proud, bringing her here for a special task just to have her blown up by a piece of armor. After their farewell to the smith Siona showed Evuna the enchanted bathrooms explaining how each bath had different enchantments. One soothed the muscles with heat and magic. Another revitalised energy and magic, another was for healing ailments, one was literally a bath of wine, another let you smell like any scent you wished and Evuna lost track after that and felt a bit uncomfortable when she went past some elvhen men and woman bathing. She knew this was just everyday for them but she still felt like she was invading their privacy.

Moving on Siona showed her various more rooms, one was called the hall of memories, where runes when touched would play memories within your mind. All of them were of historical events of the Elvhen Pantheon. This is also where Evuna met Silvhen, a charming man with light brown hair and golden brown eyes, he wore the usual sentinel armor that Lahlas also wears. The couple told her how they first met, she served him a meal once in his chambers, then again, and again until eventually they fell in love. After chatting with Silvhen some more, Siona grabbed a meal for Evuna and herself from the kitchens and showed Evuna back to her rooms, pointing out different rooms the whole way. They ate dinner in her rooms and chatted some more. Evuna thanked Siona for the wonderful day while Siona brushed it off, promising to see her tomorrow before she said her farewells and left.

Finally in her rooms again she sat upon the settee, thinking upon the day and the extravagant and unusual rooms around the temple she had seen that day. She for sure was going back to the hall of memories, knowing about important events of the Evanuris is invaluable information she could need, as books can only tell you so much. The bathrooms were interesting and she would love to try some of them but she would rather be caught dead than be bathing naked with people she did not know, she will keep to her own baths for now. The Library she absolutely loved, there was even a nice nook next to a window, in the back of the room hidden away from people where she could see herself reading most of the time. The only thing she needed now were art supplies. Maybe she could find someone selling supplies around here. But perhaps..

She stood and walked to the desk in her room, opening the drawer Evuna squealed in joy like it was Christmas. Inside there was a heap of paper, pencil shaped charcoal, a empty journal and a quill pen. It was not a painting set but with this she can finally draw and write down some of her thoughts.

For now she puts them back away, not feeling like drawing just yet she goes towards the bookshelf she was at this morning. Looking at some of the titles she pulls out a book 'Rising of the Evauris' thinking it is as good as a place to start. She takes off her clothes, noticing yesterdays clothes that she had half haphazardly thrown to the floor were now neatly folded and clean on her end table, she folds today's clothes and places it next to them. She will have to put her clean clothes back away tomorrow.

Climbing into bed she begins to read her book to keep her mind from spiralling from her own thoughts. After some time reading the days adventures began to take their toll, slowly she falls asleep with her book still open in her lap.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope this makes sense as I did type most of this out while sick.  
> Also if your confused what Siona was about to ask Abelas. She was going to ask him how big is sword is ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
> 
> Eliovron --> our bear. From the words: el (ours) + iovro (bear)
> 
> Thank you for all the kudos as well guys I really appreciate it <3


	5. Fade Walker

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fade dreams and Evuna has a bit of a breakdown.

Opening her eyes, she saw a familiar ceiling above her head. Blinking in confusion she sits herself up to look around to notice she was ... home. The sunlight shining through her window hitting her face, her sheets a crumpled mess, her phone with earphones next to her and her desk with all of her art sitting there waiting for her to continue. Was it truly just imagining it? It felt so real though, the temple in all its golden glory, Sionas beaming face and amazing personality, the smell of new but delicious smells hitting her nose in the kitchens, and the unmistakable rush of magic running through her veins was just... a dream? Something didn't sit right with her as she piked up her phone and walked into her living room, exactly how she remembered it, with her controller on the couch from last night after finishing trespasser. Her dreams used to be quite realistic but nothing ever made her feel like that, and something at the back of her mind kept on screaming something was wrong. It made her uncomfortable as she held her phone to her chest. Was she really home?

She decides to make herself some tea to calm her senses, going through the automatic motions of grabbing her favourite mug, her tea and sugar in the cupboard above her and putting the kettle to boil. Waiting for it to boil she bites at her lip. Maybe she could text Emily, tell her about her dream, then they would laugh about it and everything will go back to normal. She would miss the magic though. 

Making her tea with shaky hands, she almost spills the hot water on herself. Thankfully she recovers, pouring the water into the cup she stirs her tea, grabbing some milk she adds it to her tea as well. Finally satisfied with the consistency she brings the shaky cup to her lips and drinks, the scent of honey and peppermint hitting her senses and warming her body. She keeps her eyes closed, holding on to the cup of tea like it is her saviour, she lets the tea soothe her mind. After her last gulp, she exhales trying to expel whats left of her nerves out of her body. Solas would be disgusted she thought to herself, a slight smile upon her lips. Then just as she seemed to relax herself, there's a knock at her door.

Letting out a tiny shriek, the knock frightened her back out of her thoughts. Placing her cup back down on the bench she shuffles over to the door. Could it be Emily? What would she be doing here at this time? Making sure her large whacking stick was right next to her at the front door as she was paranoid of someone attacking her, she opens the door... to a elvhen woman of glowing soft blue. Bewildered she stands there mouth open, until the woman shifts a bit, snapping her mouth shut her mind begins to reel, her brows frowning in confusion and then it clicks, the realisation hitting her heart. She had seen the spirits called the librarians looking quite similar, so this was a spirit and if a spirit was at her doorstep then that meant she wasn't home and this was just the fade. 

Her head down and her hopes had sunk, just as she was believing she was back home again it was all thrown away in an instant. Tears started to roll down her cheeks silently as she grieved for the home she could never return to. She had been pushing thoughts of her home back, trying not to embarrass herself or worry Siona and trying to just not to deal with the emotional turmoil brewing within her, hoping it would float away like a bottle in the ocean. But now, with the hopes of being home given to her once more and taken away in an instant, the bottle has broken and now her emotions were leaking from her. She hiccuped a sob as her body began to shake, falling to her knees as the weight of her sorrow was too heavy to stand for. 

The spirit became distressed at Evuna's outburst and moved from side to side anxiously "I'm sorry I cannot help you my friend, as I cannot console you with words. Perhaps Wisdom can help. I will fetch her." the spirit said as it flashed out of existence, Evuna hardy taking much notice as her mind was a storm she couldn't escape from. 

Her world is gone, she will never see her friend again and hear her laugh at one of her lame jokes, never get the chance to talk to that guy in the coffee shop with the sparkling blue eyes, never get to listen to some of her regular customers stories as she applied the ink to their skin. It was all just ... gone.

A flash of green appeared in front of her and as she gazed up with tears swarming her vision she saw a green spirit, with short hair and warm eyes that held wisdom... this was wisdom.

The spirit sat down to her knees and cupped Evuna's face before speaking "Oh young one. You are so full of sorrow. It is perfectly normal to grieve for what you have lost, but do not let it consume you" Wiping away some of her tears she lifts Evuna's face a little more "Steel yourself afterwards, hold your memories close and never forget the joy you took from your previous life" Wisdom's voice was humble and held a weight to them that made you listen. Taking her words into thought she tried to remember all of the joys she had of her life but the tears would not stop.

"But the memories hurt" she wheezed out amongst sobs

"It may be bittersweet but it is better to remember than to forget who you are" Wisdom said with kindness like a mother consoling her children "Let your joyful memories help guide you whenever you feel you have lost yourself to sorrow, only then will you heal" Wisdom let Evuna's face go, coming close to hold her as she cried. 

Her heart felt heavy, her mind remembering her life left behind. She sat like that, sobbing while wisdom quietly held her until there were no more tears left and she was left feeling like empty husk. Wisdom told her to stand then and pulled Evuna back inside to sit on her couch. Evuna grabbed one of the fluffy pillows on the couch, holding it tight like it was her lifeline. Once Evuna sat Wisdom spoke again.

"You maybe in another world, in another body but you are still you. Your soul is the same, maybe even more and you shall change this world whether you know it or not. This is your home now, nurture it well with the things that you love and you will feel welcome inside your own bones again" Wisdom says as the blue spirit from before appears again across from her. "Also this is knowledge, she has been keeping you safe in the fade and will continue to do so until you learn to on your own accord."

"Nice to meet you knowledge, and thank you" Evuna says softy, the energy drained from her to do little else

"It is always a pleasure for one such as you. I do hope you feel well soon so we may speak more, I've so much to teach you" She says with a tad bit of excitement, her voice soft but held meaning.

Evuna nods her head unsure what else to say. Then she felt a tug upon her body, the feeling increasing as she sat there. She was about to ask what the feeling was but wisdom spoke before she could. 

"It is almost time for you to wake now. We will speak again another time but for now, take care of yourself and embrace yourself to your change" Wisdom says as the tug became a pull and her voice fades away into blackness. 

With sleep in her eyes and her heart still heavy from her dreams in the fade, she wakes. Slowly she collects her clothes, washes herself and plaits her hair ready for the day, her mind blank the whole time. Stepping back into her room she sits in front of the fire that never dies and stares blankly into it. She tried to ignore her worries, to push them back and think about them another day, but now it had hit her like a freight train. You would think she would learn to stop doing it after countless times of explosive breakdowns. She could almost hear her Aunt "Bottling up your emotions isn't healthy Evie, one day you'll blow and make a frightful mess and you know how much I hate cleaning" she would say jokingly

"Sorry auntie, old habits die hard" she whispers to herself 

Her Auntie basically raised her and felt more like a mother to her than her true biological mother ever was. Her mother tried, and failed she'll give her that but she never had the mother daughter bond with her. But her Aunt was a godsend, she taught her how to cook and garden on the weekends when she got to visit her. She always used to love running through the small forest, pretending faeries were floating through the trees, and she used to climb the mulberry tree, getting her hands all sticky and purple. She wished she were still alive, suppose it doesn't matter now.

Noticing something out of the corner of her eye, she looks to the small table in front of her. It was a small breakfast consisting of fruits cheese and bread, on the side there was a note hastily written on a small piece of paper. It read 'There's chocolate hidden under the grapes - Siona'. Just as expected, Evuna lifts up the grapes and four small chocolates were there. The gesture pulling a small smile out of her sad heart. This may not be like her home on earth but it can be a home no less. 

Eating her small breakfast still with a smile on her face, she feels a bit better. She isn't completely fine, she still holds weight in her chest but it does feel a bit lighter. This world may not be the same but it doesn't mean she has to stop what she loved. Like eating chocolate oh blessed chocolate!

Collecting her book she was reading yesterday about the Evanuris, she curls up on the settee and reads to distract her thoughts from darkening and to hold on to the little happiness Siona's chocolates had given her. Before too long there was a knock at the door. Putting the book aside she opens the door to Lahlas.

"Come we shall continue where we left off of yesterday" Lahlas says as they head off to another vigorous day of training. Lahlas began with her barriers again, showing her how to stand better and teaching her how to let the barrier stay up with little use of mana. They then began training on the statues, throwing fire at the statue with Lahlas telling her how to throw it properly and to lessen the power behind her attacks for now. 

She tried but she couldn't, all her pent up emotions were welling up inside her as she threw ball after ball of fire at the statue, faster and harder as the weight in her chest pulled at her. The flame becoming blue in her frustration, she could hear Lahlas trying to say something but she could not here him over her own mind screaming. Throwing her all at the statue, tears were flying from her face as she continued to pelt fire, but also lightning, ice, and force magic. Then in a fit of rage, she screamed as she threw a massive fade rock at the statue, making rock go flying in all different directions with a large crash.

Panting she stared at her destruction then looks to Lahlas to see the surprised look on his face. He was completely speechless and croaked as he was trying to find something to say.

Recollecting his composure he speaks "You are gifted on a variety of magic types I see from that outburst" he says as he walks closer to Evuna. Coming up to her, he puts a hand upon her shoulder "Are you okay young one"

Evuna looks up to him, then to the shattered remains of statue and rock, flames still burning the grass in patches, letting the smell of smoke hit her nose.

"No I'm not.. but I will be" she says still panting with a small smile on her face. The outburst may have been immature of her but she needed it. It let her get out her frustrations out once and for all, leaving her heart lighter for the first time coming here. Plus she got to see what she could really do if she needed to attack someone, making her feel a bit safer that she could protect herself, hopefully.

"It will get easier as time goes by I assure you. But don't let rage blind you again. Without a clear head your magic is uncontrollable, it lashes out like a whip at anything it touches and could potentially lead to hurting the ones you love." Lahlas squeezes her shoulder "We will finish today's lessons now so you can recover your emotions and feel better"

"Thank you Lahlas you have been most understanding" Evuna says with a light nod to her head after finally catching her breath again.

"Of course, I have been in a similar position before and know how stressful it can be, especially when you have no outlet" Lahlas drops his hand, bringing them behind his back and pauses in consideration before he spoke again "Perhaps next time you can learn how to wield a blade, as you could take your frustrations out on the dummy without destroying it that way" He says with a small smile on his face

Letting out a chuckle she agrees "Yeah that's definitely a good idea" lightly embarrassed

"Until then, take care Evuna" he says with a light bow of his head

"You too and thank you" She leaves, heading towards her rooms, she was just about to open the door but stopped. 'Do I really want to be cooped up all day with my mind?' It was the afternoon and explainable if she wished to retire to her rooms now, but she felt like she could use a different environment. Heading down the hallways, she realised for the first time that they were lit by glowing strips of blue light down the sides of the walls and around the archways. How she didn't notice this before she has no idea but they were soft on the eye. If she missed this what else did she miss about the world around her? She will need to pay more attention.

Passing some elvhen women chatting in a corner that didn't notice her presence, she entered the library. She didn't want to try and talk to the librarians yet so she browsed the many books upon the walls and aisles, after a time she found a basic cooking book about the taste of different ingredients and a book about dreaming in the fade, both such interesting reads. Taking both books she sits down in the small out of the way spot she saw with Siona on her first trip to the library. Sitting down in the small settee, she began to read the cooking book. Although the Fade book was just as interesting, she didn't want to read it yet as it reminded her of last night. 

With the sun beaming down on her from the window giving her a pleasant warmth, she read like that for quite a while, the reading keeping her mind settled and her heart still. There were so many different types of herbs she couldn't count. Some sounded like similar herbs to back home but others were strange. There is one herb that was quite sweet and if added to a meal made anyone who ate it giggle. But most importantly they had mint! Maybe she could make her minty hot chocolate again. 

She had only gone through a quarter of the book and she hadn't even gotten onto the different types of meat. It looked like she was going to be there all night but luckily Siona found her.

"There you are! I've been looking for you everywhere, thought something terrible might have happened to you" Siona breathed

Looking to see Siona in front of her she blinks in surprise and looks out the window and saw how late it was. She had been so engrossed in the cooking book that it was now night and she hadn't even noticed.

"I'm sorry Siona I didn't realise the time. Is it dinner time already?" Evuna says, feeling slightly disorientated from reading for so long

"It's past dinner time now but that's alright, come on, lets get some food in you" Siona says while shaking her head and laughing

Evuna picks up her books and walks with Siona back to her rooms "What? it's a good book and very informative"

"Is it a romantic novel with smutty goodness" Siona says wiggling her eyebrows

"You wish" she says, rolling her eyes "Actually it's a cooking book and if I'm going to start cooking again then I may as well make sure I know what I'm cooking with."

"I'm surprised you were sitting there reading a book to be honest and not in Lahlas' rooms training... vigorously" She says with innuendo and giggled

"You and your dirty mind, what am I ever going to do with you" Evuna laughed with her while shaking her head. Siona's presence calming her from her emotionally draining day

Siona brought her to the kitchens where she grabbed some leftovers for the both of them, then went to the small garden to eat. In between bites of food Siona told her of her day, taking about her new recipe the chef gave her to make, how some of the nobles who visit are so snobby. And also about a girl who was trying to seduce Eliovron for his secret recipes, which led her to end up with a bag of flour on her head for her efforts. Note to self, don't annoy Eliovron.

After eating, saying goodnight to Siona and heading back inside her room she felt exhausted, but her talk with Siona let her release the last bit of weight in her chest. She knows she will never get used to losing her home and it may weigh on her again from time to time. But she feels better, knowing she has someone here that cares for her. Perhaps she will tell Siona one day of her old home, but for now her presence in times like these is a small blessing. 

Her emotional roller coaster of a day had taken the energy out of her so she threw off her clothes, had a bath which she almost fell asleep in, and crawled into bed. She had a good mind to read a bit more of her cooking book but the minute her head hit the pillow she was out, back into the land of dreams.

Opening her eyes to her room from her old life, her heart constricted again. Looking around at all of her things she used to have. 'This hurts too much' she whispers to herself, the sight of her old home too fresh a wound. Wondering if it was true that some people could change their surroundings in the fade, she imagined herself in the small peaceful gardens. She closed her eyes and thought about the rustle of the trees overhanging the balcony, the perfume of exotic flowers, and the steady sound of water trickling from the fountain. Something changed under her feet, one foot was upon grass and the other was on what felt like stone, so slowly she opened her eyes and gasped to see it worked. Her heart calming at the peaceful place, she sat down upon a stone seat to the side, taking a deep breath and feeling better. 

The blue spirit of knowledge flashed into existence in front of her. Evuna never got to take notice of her features the first time seeing her as she was too distraught, but as she was calm now she noticed knowledge's appearance properly. She had long flowing hair down her back with braids keeping it swept back while wearing a intricate garment with swirling embellishments on the edges. Her face was round with soft eyes, pointed ears and she had a light smile on her face.

"Hello Evuna, how are you feeling?" Knowledge spoke as she walked up to Evuna

"Slightly drained but better thank you" Evuna says with a small smile of her own

"I see this place is more calming for you" Knowledge sits next to Evuna upon the stone seat, looking at her surroundings

"Yes, it is peaceful here and the flowers smell beautiful" she says while looking around herself

"If you would like, you can make sure this is the first place you see upon entering the fade" Knowledge says looking to Evuna one more "As the memory of your home seems to causes you distress"

"That would be nice, but how would I do that exactly?" Evuna cocked her head slightly in confusion

"You must reinforce your memory of this place upon the fade, making the connection between your mind entering dreams to always see this memory. If you change your mind, you can always change it in the future" Knowledge said with a kind smile

Closing her eyes with her hands in her lap she does as knowledge asks, pushing her magic out to the fade knowing exactly how as if she always knew. Feeling it work within herself she opens her eyes.

"Well done" Knowledge nods in approval. Knowing that this is the first place she would see when entering the fade was quite reassuring, but Evuna had questions that had been burning on her mind ever since she heard about Knowledge.

"Knowledge, Mythal told me that you gave me all of your knowledge but I don't believe that. As I find myself preforming magic with Lahlas as if it was easy as breathing but finding the knowledge from books about cooking and the Evanuris all new." 

"No I did not. I gave you my knowledge of magic and of the fade, and is why it is so easy for you to preform magic. I did not give you all of my knowledge however, as if I did your mind would be in shatters. The vast amount of knowledge would overwrite your memories and you would not remember the important memories that make you, you" Knowledge explained, her voice like velvet

"And what do you get in return from gifting me your knowledge?" Evuna asks suspiciously. Not sure if spirits were similar to demons where there had to be a bargain of some sort.

"I get to speak to you of course, a otherworlder with knowledge no one of this world could imagine. Even a glimpse of your world is payment enough for the knowledge I have given you" knowledge said with excitement at the prospect

"And you have taken a glimpse inside my mind of my world then?" Evuna says a bit uneasy, she didn't like the thought of knowledge being unknowingly taken from her in a bargain.

"I have only seen flashes of things you have thought about while speaking to me, and your home you were in when we first met. I have not taken any knowledge from your mind unknowingly or on purpose as it is against my nature. But if you have any knowledge you would like to share, I would be happy to listen" Knowledge said with purpose, reassuring Evuna of her worries.

"Thank you for not doing that, some knowledge is best left unknown to this world" Evuna pauses before speaking again "If you don't mind I would prefer if you don't share any knowledge of my world to anyone. As i'm afraid it could lead to unknown dire circumstances" She definitely did not want knowledge to give someone an idea to make guns or bombs. The world would be better off not having them.

Seeing what Evuna thought about when she spoke, Knowledge grimaced and agreed "I can see what you mean, it could be quite disastrous for this world. I promise to guard your knowledge" Knowledge said, giving a slight bow

"Thank you" Evuna lets out a breath she didn't know she was holding. After a moment of silence Knowledge speaks once again.

"Do you realise you are a fade walker. Most elvhen have to train themselves to be able to change their surroundings like you have"

"Not until now no, I didn't really think about it. I just didn't want to be in my old home anymore. The wound is still too fresh" She says the last part in a whisper

"It is a great gift to have, and if you are willing to listen, I can help you with your dreaming" 

"If it isn't too much trouble" Evuna said thoughtfully

"Not of all, it is my pleasure to give you my knowledge" Knowledge said excitedly, beginning her lesson straight away. 

Knowledge then began to speak of the fade and how it worked. As she was speaking however it felt like knowledge was reminding her of something she had forgotten. No doubt because of the knowledge she had already given her about the fade. She explained how to push away malevolent spirits, which was similar to creating a barrier but around herself in a dome that followed her where ever she went. Knowledge also taught her how to put a permanent barrier upon her dream space, one in which no spirit or person could enter without asking for permission first. Then as she was beginning to talk about the different types of spirits of the fade, she felt the familiar tug on her body.

"It is time to wake. I will continue our talk tomorrow. Farewell Evuna" Knowledge says standing up

"Bye knowledge and thank you" Evuna says with a smile, feeling better that she knows how to protect herself in the fade now. Then she is pulled back into her body and wakes up to a new day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You thought she was doing alright, BOOM you were wrong. Evuna has a tendency to bottle up emotions she doesn't want to deal with until she eventually breaks. That's why she seemed to be fitting in well. Sorry if this chapter was a bit boring but I promise it will get more interesting.
> 
> From here on I'm going to speed things along a bit more as I'd be here forever if I wrote every chapter day by day -_- 
> 
> In the next chapter quite a few months have gone past and Evuna has learnt a lot.


	6. Times Dance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Time goes by as Evuna learns and becomes more comfortable with the world around her. Also singing, dancing and an upcoming ball.

Time began to pass quickly from then on, Evuna's days were filled with lessons from Lahlas, chats with Siona, reading lots, and she finally began cooking with the chef Eliovron. 

Lahlas taught her how to wield a dagger, sword, bow and staff. Of course she wasn't good at any of them yet but she got to practice them all, with Lahlas saying "It is important to know how to use other weapons, as if you are in a situation where you cannot rely on your magic to protect you, then you can always defend yourself by other means". She understands what he means and it will sure come in handy in the future, plus it kept things interesting. She now carries a small dagger on her as well that was gifted to her by Lahlas, just in case she needed to defend herself. He was starting to warm up to her as well, showing a few small smiles and laughing along with Evuna when she ended up on her ass for the trillionth time that day.

She sped through most of the magic lessons as well, thanks to knowledge. Lahlas didn't have to try too hard to instruct Evuna on how to cast spells, but she did have difficulties preforming the right stances and movements to preform the magic flawlessly. Although Lahlas could teach her about all the types of magic there was, he couldn't teach her on fade magic so she went to knowledge about it. In her time in the fade, Knowledge helped show her all the fade magic she needed to know and how to walk the fade safely. She hadn't dare step out of her fade space yet though, as she doesn't feel like she is capable of defending herself efficiently yet, so she stayed in her garden playing music from her world that she missed listening to. In order to practice her fade magic properly she asks Lahlas to watch over her. Even though she got to practice with Knowledge in the fade she needed to train her muscles how to move with the spells and Lahlas was quite helpful in pointing out when a move was sloppy or a spell had too much power behind it.

 

Her cooking with Eliovron began quite interesting as on her first day she had accidentally blew up her ingredients in a bowl. How was she supposed to know they also put magical elixrs into their meals, she thought it was just olive oil. Eliovron just laughed it off and helped her out, explaining where they kept their elixrs and what each one was used for. After that she went fairly alright with cooking. From time to time she would ask Eliovron what ingredient did what in a meal she was preparing and he was happy to help. The man himself was quite friendly unlike his gruff appearance, always helping the other kitchen staff when they needed it. He helped Evuna out quite a bit and even taught her some of his tricks surprisingly. Even though most of her time was spent either reading or training she always made sure she had a bit of time to cook in the afternoon, as it helped her unwind from the day. Cooking was what she loved and being able to cook again was a relief for her soul.

She never saw Mythal much as she was busy dealing with other matters outside of the temple, she only saw her once during the months when she looked upon Evuna training with Lahlas, then left once she was satisfied at what she saw. Out of all the Evavnuris she was sure the nicest of them all as she has read many thing about the Evanuris. She does have her dark side though as she read in one of her books, which is most likely how the Evanuris have been kept in check for so long. Whenever one of the Evanuris would go to far Mythal would step in and either diffuse the situation with her intelligence or rally the other gods to strike the misbehaving Evanuris down to surrender. 

The other gods were less kind, as she read some books that were supposed to be hidden from public eye. Andruil hunted the people as sport, killing any who angered her and enslaved vicious hunters she deemed worthy of serving her. Dirthamen killed many for their secrets and enslaved the ones he thought would be perfect to collect more secrets for him. Falon'din was desperate for praise so killed any elvhen who did not bow to him, enslaving the rest. Ghilan'nain was Andruils chosen and had created terrible monsters that terrorised all of Elvhenan, until Andruil offered her elevation to becoming one of the Evanuris in bargain for Ghilian'nain to destroy her creatures. June was the quietest of the gods but he did his part, he was the one who created many of the Evanuris' weapons, in payment though they would have to give June followers in his service. Elgar'nan was vicious in his ruling, with only Mythal able to calm his temper. He struck the people down who refused to revere him as a god, and when he was in fights with some of the other gods he would let his champion fight the other gods champion, while stealing their slaves to his servitude in vengeance. And Fen'harel... he seemed to be feared and revered by the elvhen with some books she found highlighting him in a dark manner while the other books she found talked about him delivering freedom to slaves that had proved themselves worthy, feeding the poor and delivering justice. If this is what the Evanuris were like then she was going to have a very difficult time ahead of her.

Luckily she had avoided encountering any of the gods so far. When she heard a god was visiting she normally tried to make sure she was as scarce as possible. She definitely wasn't ready to encounter one of them just yet, she had barely figured out how to shoot a bow. She definitely wasn't ready to defend herself and play mind games with a god. 

Siona was a blessing. she would always try and make some time to be able to chat to Evuna. She did not see her everyday of course but when they did catch up, it was with much giggling and laughter as they talked about their days. Siona had also given Evuna some of her recipes that were absolutely delicious, in return Evuna showed Siona how to make mint hot chocolate which surprisingly was unheard of, but she also made sure she kept her mint hot chocolate recipe a secret for now, as Evuna didn't want to bring attention to herself. Siona didn't want anyone to know the recipe anyway, afraid they would have a tighter leash on their chocolate if the recipe went viral. It was their sweet little secret.

Overall Evuna felt she was fitting in better now, she didn't feel ready to face any of the gods but the people around her giving their silent support was a blessing. She did have her times at night when she would weep for her old home and fear for the future of the elvhen people but the weight of it all was becoming more manageable as the time went past. She was unsure how much time went past though, perhaps she will ask Lahlas when she has the chance.

One day, she was reading a book about "The songs of Elvhenan" that sparked a deep desire to listen to some of her music, so she put a sound proof barrier up in her room and attempted to play the songs she new with her magic. It was surprisingly easy, her magic creating the right vibrations in the air to replicate the songs perfectly. When she finally figured out how to do it it was quite relieving. She had missed her music and now she could finally listen to it while reading like she used to. Now when she was alone in her rooms she would read and listen to her music, sometimes singing the song instead, with the instruments playing in the background, kinda like magical karaoke. It was on one of these days Siona caught her singing to one of the songs. She was dancing around the room singing her heart away while oblivious of Siona being there. 

"Trouble on my left, trouble on my right  
I've been facing trouble almost all my life  
My sweet love, won't you pull me through?  
Everywhere I look I catch a glimpse of you  
I said it was love and I did it for life (did-did it for you)"

"Oh  
We will come to pass, will I pass the test?  
You know what they say, yeah  
The wicked get no rest  
You can have my heart, any place, any time  
Got so much to lose  
Got so much to prove  
God don't let me lose my mind "

"TroubAHHHHHH She screamed, putting up a barrier around her in reflex as she had just turned around to see Siona standing there gobsmacked, with a tray of food she was bringing to Evuna for dinner. The music had stopped when Evuna had been frightened by Siona's presence, now they were staring at each other in shock, waiting for the other to speak. Siona shook off her shock and spoke first.

"I'm sorry! I knocked but you didn't hear obviously over your amazing sing voice! You told me you could sing but you never told me you could sing like that!" She shrieks in excitement "That song was beautiful, I've never heard anything like that before. All the music we have is always about this god doing that and whatsoever. Do you know anymore? I would love to hear them. OOOOOHH maybe you could sing at the ball, I'm sure Mythal would love it and it would make all the other gods celebrations look bland. Can we please ask her Evuna Pleaseeeee" she begs in excitement, discarding her tray upon the desk while Evuna is still trying to wrap her head around what just happened.

"You want me, to sing at a ball... in front of the Evanuris..... and many other people at a ball?" Evuna says confused "But I'm not that great, and my music isn't like anything they would listen to"

"Nonsense your voice is absolutely divine and I'm sure your music would liven up the ball from the drab music they play every year, come please, Mythal would be ecstatic!"She says as she pulled Evuna across the hall to Mythal's door, knocking they wait for Mythal to answer

"I don't think this is a good idea at all Siona, I mean..." She didn't get to say anything else as Mythal had now opened the door.

"Good afternoon Siona, Evune. What has brought the both of you to me at this hour?" Mythal was wrapped up in a night gown, obviously ready to go to sleep.

"I'm sorry to disturb you Mythal but I may have found our singer for the ball" Siona says, inclining to Evuna, which had her hands behind her back trying to look less nervous than she felt.

"Really?" Mythal says with an eyebrow raised "Well do come in and we shall discuss this shall we" She opened the door wider, indicating for them to come in.

They both walked in to the room with Mythal closing the door behind them. Once she had, she put up a sound proof barrier and walked up to them with interest.

"So Siona believes you are a singer, is that true?"

"Perhaps but I wouldn't call myself excellent and I only know songs people would have never heard about" Evuna says nervously

"Show me what you can do then" Mythal spoke, leaving little space for argument

Sighing in defeat she took a deep breath and began to the sing the song she was singing before when Siona came in, letting her music create the background music. When she First started singing, she was quiet as she was not very comfortable to be singing in front of people, especially Mythal. But she took a deep breath, looked to the far wall behind them and focused on her singing, putting her heart and soul into the song. After she had finished she finally braved herself to look at the expressions of the women judging her singing. Siona was just the same as she first herd it, her mouth open wide in shock, while Mythal surprisingly had a large beaming smile on her face.

"You were right to bring her to me Siona. That was beautiful and will be a nice surprise for the gods" Mythal chuckled "Do you know anymore songs, if so it would be a pleasure if you could sing at the upcoming ball" 

"Um, I suppose but I have never attended a ball, I do not know the proper etiquette and I don't even know what ball you are referring to. I didn't even know there was a ball happening soon" Evuna says slightly freaking out

"Siona and Knowledge will help you prepare my child do not fear. The ball is a celebration for Ghilan'nain ascending to become one of the Evanuris and will happen in four months from now" Mythal says with a smirk on her face

"Wait I thought that wasn't happening till next year?" Evuna looked down in confusion but then looked up again as she heard Mythal laugh

"You have been here for a year already my dear, have you not noticed?" She says with a smile still on her face. The news giving Evuna a bit of a reality check. She had been here for a year? She thought it might have been maybe a couple months, not a year!

"I... I guess not" Evuna says still shocked at the news

"You should keep track of your time better then, Siona could you get Evuna a calendar tomorrow, then she might not forget to turn up for the celebration" Siona nodded, then Mythal looked to Evuna "I do look forward to the others faces once you start singing. They will be outraged that they didn't have such amazing songs at their celebrations to Ghilan'nain"

"There where other celebrations for her" Evuna asked curiously

"Of course, a new member of the Evanuris is celebrated for years with each Evanuris having their own celebration for the new god. And each celebration is more of a boast to the new and old gods on how much power they have. the bigger the celebration, the more powerful they seem" Mythal explained

"And am I a boast of power for you Mythal" Evuna says with suspicion, she did not want to be used in such a way.

"Not at all dear, you are there to ruffle their feathers a bit and get under their nerves, nothing more" Mythal reassured with Evuna nodding, accepting the answer. After a pause Mythal speaks again "Now that everything has been discussed, I think it is time to sleep unless you had any questions?"

"None that I can think of at the moment, no." Evuna says. At that, Mythal walked over and opened the door indicating for them to leave. As they walked out the door Mythal spoke again

"Sleep well, the both of you. The next time I'll see you will most likely be at the ball so farewell and goodnight" Mythal says with a nod, Evuna and Siona both saying goodnight. Siona then tried and failed to stifle a yawn as Evuna walked back to her door.

"I might head off as well. Sorry for dragging you over to Mythal like that, I just thought your singing was really beautiful and it would be amazing for you to sing at the ball and.."Siona stops short as Evuna speaks over her, grabbing her shoulders to get her attention.

"Calm down Siona it's alright. I may not like singing in front of a bunch of people, but it won't be the first time. And it is probably good to finally get out of my comfort zone" She says rubbing her shoulders to comfort her. Siona releasing a sigh of relief

"Oh good, I thought you may have been mad at me for forcing something like that on you" Siona says nervously

"If I truly didn't want you to do it you would have known about it Siona trust me" Evuna smiles letting Siona go "Now I think I'll be heading off for bed now too, See you tomorrow Siona and thank you" She says tiredly 

"No worries, goodnight Evuna" She yawns the last part this time, giving a small laugh at her manners, she leaves. Leaving Evuna to get ready for bed and sleep. 

She finds the meal Siona had left on her desk, now cold. So she warms it up with a small heating spell and eats. After sleepily shovelling the food down her mouth she sheds her clothes and goes instantly to sleep.

Once she finds herself in the fade in her usual garden, she waits to see if knowledge will turn up tonight. Some nights knowledge leaves Evuna to herself, most likely because she is helping another soul requiring knowledge of some sort but luckily she came. She spoke to knowledge about her predicament, explaining how she needed to learn about elvhen etiquette and how to dance. She might not have to dance at the ball for all she knows but she wasn't going to take that chance. She would prefer to know how to dance properly then be a laughing stock for the Evanuris.

"I would love to teach you more about elvhen etiquette but I cannot teach you how to dance my friend. I could tell you how the steps go, but I couldn't show you the motions. This I think is Creativity's expertise though if you would like to speak to them" Knowledge explained

"What would I have to trade to learn how to dance from creativity though?" Evuna asked in concern

"Nothing at all. Our darker brethren are the ones that demand payment. We only ask for payment when the boon asked for is quite valuable just as any elvhen would do with their possessions. If you are asking to be taught how to dance and are willing to spend time to learn it, it is priceless. But if you are wishing to take the knowledge on how to dance into your mind directly, then a bargain must be made"

"I would prefer to take my time and learn it so I don't think that would be a problem" Evuna says reassured

"Good, I will see if Creativity is available to help you then" Knowledge said as she blinked out of existence.

Afte a moment she returned, but not alone. A thin male spirit was next to Knowledge, glowing a soft purple, the spirit had a chiseled jaw, large eyes full of wonder, pointed ears and short hair. Were all spirits elvhen around here? Maybe they were elvhen because humans, dwarfs and kossith did not exist yet.

"Hello, I am Creativity and I hear you wish to learn how to dance" A soft, pure voice spoke.

From here on Evuna was taught with creativity every night on how to dance and Knowledge taught her about Elvhen etiquette. When she was awake however, after her lessons with Lahlas, Siona would teach her more about Elvhen etiquette, how to play the game and she took her to the ballroom to practice some of the dances Creativity had taught her. When Evuna told her about Creativity teaching how to dance ,she was relieved as she thought she had to teach Evuna from scratch. So her next few months was spent preparing herself for the ball. Even Lahlas was preparing her, teaching her some moves that she could do with a dagger in case she needed to take someone out quickly and silently. Making sure she knew how to dispose of the body in another room and how to not leave a single trace as well.

The beginning of the ball was now tomorrow and apparently the festivities will go for a week, A WEEK! She won't have to preform all day luckily. Mythal has asked her to preform a song at the beginning, lunch and at the end to finish the celebrations for each day. For the first day however Mythal did not want her to sing at the start. She wanted her guests to become comfortable celebrating, then come lunch time Evuna will sing and surprise the daylights out of them. The thought of singing for so many people was a bit daunting to Evuna but she found the plan of shaking the Evanuris with her songs quite exciting and comforting her nervous thoughts. 

She was now going over everything with Knowledge and Creativity, making sure she was as prepared as she could be for the ball tomorrow. She was almost perfect with her etiquette with Knowledge and had learnt as many dances as she could with Creativity, even going over the songs she would sing with Creativity to make sure none of the words she sung could point out her otherworldly origins. But she didn't feel like she was up to standard as she still made small mistakes. Sometimes it was just accidentally mixing two types of dances she learnt into one, another taking the wrong step and bumping heads with Creativity. She didn't know what she was going to do if she was asked to dance, most likely make a fool out of herself. Creativity could hear her worry after Evuna accidentally stepped on Creativity's foot for the fifth time that afternoon.

"Dear friend If you wish I could gift you my knowledge upon dancing. Then you wouldn't have to worry about stepping on peoples toes" Creativity said in hopes of relieving some of Evuna's stress

Evuna sighs, she didn't want to resort to it but she is afraid she might have to in order to not look like a fool tomorrow 

"I'm sorry Creativity I tried to learn it properly but it just wasn't enough time to learn such elaborate dances. If you are willing to give me such a gift, what would you need in payment?" Evuna said, biting her lip in worry

"Nothing, I would like to give it to you as your time spent with me learning the dances is payment enough. You have already learnt all of the dances. My gift will only refine what knowledge you already have so you don't stumble as you do now"

"Are you sure, I don't wish to do it but I feel I have no other choice" Evuna says a little sadly

"Do not fret, I would not give it to you if I did not think you were worthy. You are a talented dancer and your creativity will shake all of the people tomorrow. That is payment enough to me" Creativity said with a reassuring smile on his face, making Evuna worry a bit less

"Okay then, I will be grateful if you could gift me your knowledge of dancing. Thank you." Evuna said bowing her head

Creativity then held Evuna's face, leaning his head forward so their heads touched. Soft magic touched Evunas mind for a moment and then it was gone, Creativity leaning back with a smile.

"It is done, now you will be able to dance as graceful as a swan" He said pleased "Come I'll show you"

Creativity proceeded to dance with Evuna, going through the dances flawlessly, Evuna was ecstatic. She went through so many dances with a smile on her face until she felt the dreadful tug upon her body, asking for her to begin her day of the ball. Creativity stopped the dance and giving her a hug, surprising Evuna.

"Good luck for tomorrow, I can't wait to see you sing and dance tomorrow" Creativity says excitedly as he let her go "Shake them to the bone" he said in encouragement

"Thank you so much Creativity you have been so helpful. Talk you you later" Evuna waved as darkness claimed her and she was pulled back into her body. Her day was going to be a nightmare but knowing she was prepared as she could be eased her nerves. She was going to shake the very heavens, even if it was just with a song.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't know how I smashed this out in one day but I did. I just had a lot of ideas I guess. I hope it sounds okay. Also Evuna's problem wasn't about her knowing how to dance. Her body knew all of the movements but her mind kept on jumbling up all of the different dances she had learnt. Creativity just helped her sought her jumbled thoughts.
> 
> Not sure if you guys want to hear a bunch of lyrics of the songs Evuna will be singing in the next chapter, but it is the only way I can describe her personality. Not all of it will be lyrics or that would be plain boring but yeah ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯
> 
> Also the lyrics above are from the song Trouble by Cage the Elephant if you were wondering.
> 
>  
> 
> Next will be the week long ball for Ghilan'nain and yes before you ask Fen'harel will also be there as well (͠≖ ͜ʖ͠≖)
> 
> *cough* Smexy egg with hair *cough*


	7. Ghilan'nain's Ball

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Evuna starts the first day of Ghilan'nain's ball, sings to the elvhen people, and a wolf asks questions.

The day has come, her emotions were a jumble of nerves and excitement as she opened her eyes, crawling out of her in a sleepy haze she undresses and takes a bath, the temperature helping her relax her tense muscles. She wonders off into her own thoughts, wondering what will come of the day. She had prepared herself as much as she could, making sure she knew all of the formal pleasantries she needed to know, practised her songs and also made sure they sounded proper. She was afraid the songs she knew in English wouldn't sound the same when converted to elvhen, but it seemed to blend perfectly. Lahlas had taught her everything he could magic and defence wise that could occur at the ball as well, even making sure she knew how to put a barrier on her mind, as the gods like to peek in to lesser elvhen minds apparently. She does hope she won't have to resort to killing anyone in self defence during the ball, but she has a nagging feeling she will have to and it frightens her. It will change her as well but will it be for better? She cannot say but it is something she will have to become accustomed to. Her main aim for the ball is to just sing, then once she is finished to try her best to blend into the background. As she finished bathing and began drying herself she could hear someone knocking on her door. 

"Coming! just a moment!" She yells out to whomever it maybe

After Siona had waltzed into her room that time, discovering her singing abilities, she had made sure to lock and ward the door after herself. If Siona was an assassin, her life would have been over before it had began. She cannot afford to be so careless when she had an important task to save the people, a task she is still unsure how she will accomplish.

Shuffling over to the door she collects her robe that she now leaves on her bedside table for times like these. Wrapping the robe around her body to retain her modesty she opened the door to Siona carrying a dress of some sort and a covered basket.

"Good morning Evuna I hope your ready for today, there will be many important nobles and the Gods themselves at today's ball." Siona says walking inside as Evuna lets her in "Mythal wants you to look your best today so she has gifted you a gown to wear" She says as she gives the dress to Evuna.

The dress itself was magnificent. It was a flowing white dress that faded to a ice blue, with silver trim, a heart shaped neckline with slits on both side of the dress to give a glimpse of her legs as she walks, and a silver belt with swirling designs etched into the silver plate and sapphire droplets hanging from it.

"This is beautiful" she whispered in awe

"And it will be more beautiful on you now hurry up and put it on!" Siona squealed 

Evuna walked back to the bathroom, slipping the dress on, the soft fabric caressing her skin. Just as she had finished putting on her dress properly, the dress seemed to tighten by itself until it was a perfect fit. The dress giving off a faint hum 'Well that's new' she thought to herself. Stepping back into her room she shows Siona. 

"I knew it would look marvellous on you, come have a look in the mirror yourself. It's so pretty!" Siona was practically bouncing in joy

Evuna looks in the mirror and just stares in shock, the dress suited her skin tone and deep blue eyes perfectly, and she truly felt beautiful.

"This is amazing" she had no other words

"And we haven't even finished yet, we have to do your hair, jewellery, makeup, foot wraps and your mask" Siona said pulling her over to the settee to sit "Here let me start on your hair then we'll do the rest"

Siona put her her hair back with an elaborate braid, leaving the rest of her hair down, applied some makeup to define the eyes and lips, then put on her silver lace mask that was like a second skin upon her face with magic keeping it there. When it came to the foot wraps however, Evuna had to embarrassingly ask Siona how to put them on. Siona just looked at her for a moment like she had a second head but proceeded to teach her how to wrap her feet properly. Last but not least, Siona gave her a teardrop necklace to put on as well. Evuna didn't think she could look even more breathtaking when she looked in the mirror again, but now she did. She didn't even recognise herself while she admired herself from every angle. 

"Thank you Siona you are a blessing" She says after a while, wrapping Siona into a big hug with tears of joy in her eyes, threatening to spill. 

Siona laughed, hugging her back "It was nothing, can't have you not looking your best when you blow the minds of everyone with your singing" she giggles some more " Come now you must eat before you go or you'll pass out. " She pushes the basket of food into Evuna.

Evuna uncovers it and finds some bread, cheese and little meat pies. She wasn't that hungry but she nibbled away, chatting with Siona while she ate and going over what was going to happen. Siona told her that she was only to eat food that she gave her as other food may be poisoned. They went over some of the important dignitaries that will be there and which god they represented, They even went over some of the dance moves together where Siona was surprised at how well she danced, Evuna explaining the help she got from Creativity. Then a knock at the door rang through the room, Evuna's heart leaping with nerves again. It was a messenger telling them the ball would start soon, and to take their places. Evuna quickly grabbed the knife Lahlas had gifted her and slipped it into the top of her foot wrappings for extra protection, then left with Siona

Siona and Evuna walked down the hall towards the ballroom. Elvhen servants were rushing down the hallways trying to prepare everything on time, some with large trays full of delicious foods while others had arms full of fabrics, blankets, garments. Evuna eventually lost track. It was the beginning of the ball and Evuna was a live wire full of nervous energy. Will she sing perfectly or will she crack and embarrass herself and disappoint Mythal? Will she trip up in her dancing? What if she says something wrong to one of the nobles? Then Siona spoke, breaking Evuna from her worrying thoughts.

"I can see the worry on her face from here. It's gonna be alright, your going to be amazing I'm sure of it." Siona says giving Evuna a side hug around her shoulders as they walked

"But am I ready enough? What if I slip up?" Evuna said in a small voice

"You are more prepared for this ball than most of the nobles are so you shouldn't worry. Mythal also has some spies around the ballroom that will keep an eye out for any trouble as well."

"Thank you Siona, I sure hope you're right" Evuna said, trying to make herself not look as nervous as Siona lead her to the waiting area of the ballroom.

"This is where I leave you for now, remember once you walk in and deliver your pleasantries to Mythal, you come over to the table next to the small garden to the left. I'll be there with drinks. Then after that its all yours. See you soon" Siona squeezed Evuna's hand in comfort just before she left. Leaving Evuna to wait in line to be announced to the ballroom. 

The waiting room was dressed up for the occasion with blue fabrics and jewel droplets draped along the walls, making it almost look like water running down the walls. Tables, settees and statues were also had blue accents. 'Seems the colour scheme is blue, no wonder why Mythal wanted me to this then' she thought to herself as she gazed at the room around her while she waited. Most of the people around her wore masks as well in all different colours, but it was still easy to figure out which noble represented which god, whether it was a pin with a raven on it or a arrow printed fabric, they all wore the gods symbols upon their dress. Luckily most of the nobles around her were too busy in their own conversation to notice her, wondering how Mythal's celebration will compare to the other gods. She did notice some of the people around her glance at her and mumble their thoughts discreetly, but none were willing to speak to her so far. Perhaps it was because she was some one new, or maybe they thought she was lesser because of it. Whatever their reasons she was grateful for the small peace she will have for now. So she waited in relative patience, her nerves still tugging at her but she was more calm as she went over what she was to do in her head.

Then her time came, the announcer asked for her name and invitation. She gave it and then he walked through the hallway next to the steps to announce her name. 

"Lady Evuna, songstress of Mythal" the speaker announced

With her head held high with pride she glided into the ballroom. The same blue fabrics and jewel droplets were draped upon the ceiling with mage lights making the jewels and fabric shine. It gave the illusion of being underwater almost, with the blue accents continuing around the room. Nobles of all rankings were to the left and right of her, leaving a pathway highlighted in blue light leading to Mythal. As she walked she could feel the eyes of some of the nobles stare at her in curiosity from the corners of her eyes, while others continued to chat, their conversations much more interesting than another person entering the ballroom. Then she was in front of Mythal. She was wearing a deep blue and aqua dress with silver accents embroidered upon the edges and a silver headpiece upon her head, She looked as if she had just stepped out of the ocean. Evuna then bowed in the Elvhen way of respect.

"The ball looks extravagant, the best I have ever seen. I am also grateful for you bringing me here to sing for you Mythal, it is a blessing in it's self. Thank you"

"Of course my dear, we cannot have any less but the best for the celebration of Ghilan'nain's ascension. I look forward to hearing your songs Lady Evuna" Mythal says formally, giving a light bow with her head in dismissal. 

Evuna lightly bowed again and left towards where Siona was in a nice unnoticeable dark spot, moving through the people with ease. Once she finally reached Siona she released a small breath she was holding as she leaned against the table, she takes the drink Siona passed to her. Taking a light sip of the bubbly white wine with a fruity sweetness, she looks out toward the people, looking at the many people and their masks.

"You did excellent Evuna, you walked like you owned the room and your bow was quite graceful, unlike some people" Siona says with a smirk, indicating to the noble now bowing to Mythal, doing it all wrong and very clunky. Then Evuna started giggling

 

"He looks like a chicken waving his arms about like that" she giggled some more, Siona holding back some her giggles at what Evuna said

"Oh dear that's all I'm going to see when I look at him now" Siona shakes her head "I will have to leave you now, but if you grow bored of standing there then you could always go out into the gardens or sit down on one of the various settees around the room. I'll see you soon with snacks" she smiled, giving Evuna a silent nod in goodbye and left, leaving Evuna to herself.

Just as Siona left however, Evuna noticed a man with black and blue attire, silver embroidery and mask, and deep stormy eyes that were staring at her from far away. She stared back with a eyebrow cocked in challenge until he turned away, he seemed to look vaguely familiar to her but she shook the thought away, she has more important things to think about. Besides the strange man from before, she was left in peace. The nobles must think her as unimportant as she was just a mere songstress that held no land or slaves like most of them do. The time to herself was spent going over the song she will have to do at midday and eating a few pastries Siona brought over.

The announcements came finished after a while and the dancing began. The elvhen people dancing to lovely songs about their gods, some not but all had a similar tune to them that you would usually hear at a ball. The singers themselves were on a small stage of sorts with people behind them moving their hands to create the music in the air. She thought it was odd that there was a single person, using their magic for each individual instrumental noise. Why not just have one person do them all? She could, it was quite easy. Maybe it was tradition? She didn't know but didn't let herself worry about it. 

After a while she decided to move herself to the gardens around the corner. The garden was quite beautiful, with a small stream and waterfall flowing throughout the garden. Small alcoves were spaced throughout the garden, giving the illusion of privacy to passionate couples. For now she decided to look out at the view, unlike her little garden looking over valleys and forest, this garden was overlooking the city around the temple. She could see the soft lights lining the paths, large statues in dedication to the gods spaced around the city with Mythal's being the most occurring of course. Then some of the houses were in amongst the trees themselves, glowing strips connecting some of the trees together for the people with homes amongst the trees, blue crystal in the trees branches lighting their way and crystal spires shone from some of the towers. The view was astonishing and made her realise how magical Elvhenan really is. In all her time being here she never really explored the temple properly, too busy researching about the world around her and not enough time experiencing it. She spent some time staring out at the world below her until she felt eyes on the back of her neck, forcing herself to slowly turn around, she looked and found no one even though she still felt the same prickly feeling.

"Evuna"

"EEEEp" Evuna shrieked slightly, struggling to hold in her scream. Jumping around in fright towards the noise with a spell ready in her hand, she found Siona standing there, struggling to not to let out too many giggles. Evuna thought she heard a deep laughter from nearby, laughing at her fright perhaps, but it was probably someone inside. 

"Oh gods you have to stop scaring me like that Siona, my little heart cant't take it" Evuna said with a hand to her chest. Then Siona spoke, after she had controlled in her giggles for appearances sake. 

"If you are finished being a scaredy pants, your time to sing is very soon. After this song finishes in fact" Siona says with a smile "Come follow me"

Recovering from her fright she follows Siona, her nerves were crawling up her again. Weaving between the people Siona brought her behind the small stage to wait for the song to finish.

"Remember, don't look at the people, look above their heads to the walls. Even close your eyes if you want it will help" Siona said in support "Your going to be amazing"

"Thank you Siona. I sure hope so" She says just as the song finished, beckoning her turn to sing.

The other singers and magical musicians left the stage, letting Evuna take the entire stage to herself. Once upon the stage she took a deep breath 'Let's blow their tiny minds' she thought mischievously to herself. Then she began, waving her arms to give emphasis to the fact that she was creating the song with her magic, slightly dancing with the music as well. She had not begun singing yet, but by the silence in the room except for gasps, She was already shocking them. The thought put a small grin on her face as she began to sing.

I don't know why  
But I feel down  
You need to know  
I can't go on

I was a rose  
I was an animal  
Don't let me change  
Don't let me go

All around is stone  
All is soft inside

All that I know  
Lies within emotion  
Words remain unspoken  
Lead me through the dark  
All that I see  
Came to me in colours  
Lasted for a moment  
Leads me through the dark  
All that I know

All I know  
All, all

I need it all  
I don't know where to begin  
I carry more than you see  
My dreams are bigger than me

Brings bring me light  
I bear a shadow  
I call them back to me  
So they could feed me

All is stone  
And all is soft inside

All that I know  
Lies within emotion  
Words remain unspoken  
Lead me through the dark  
All that I see  
Came to me in colours  
Lasted for the moment  
Lead me through the dark  
All that I know

All I know

Did you know  
That we're all  
Turning softer inside?  
We can save  
What is pure  
If the hearts can collide  
All that I've ever known  
Is the universe is wild  
Is the universe is wild

As the music finished she looked round to all of the shocked faces around her, nervously she made a small bow to the silent room, not a single soul making a noise. About to turn to leave the stage she all of a sudden heard some one clapping, then it grew slowly but surely there was a full applause just for her. Smiling with tears in her eyes she bowed properly then left the stage. The other singers began to walk on the stage some of them with shock on their faces, the others looked to her with hate and jealousy. Siona was there trying to hold in her excitement, her face with a beaming smile.

"I told you you would be amazing, they will be talking about you for years to come" Siona said with a small shrill in her voice. "I can't wait to hear your next song, but for now you should try and hide if you can. The nobles have noticed your talent and will try to bribe you into singing at their celebrations"

"I liked being relatively invisible before. Perhaps I should try plan B" she whispers the last part to herself. Siona heard and looked to her in confusion

"And that would be?" Siona said 

"Real invisibility" she said with a smirk. Looking around to make sure there were no eyes watching them, Evuna then wrapped the fade around her body and in an instant she was invisible. Siona was shocked

"Are you still there? Please tell me you are or Mythal will be furious with me" Siona said a little panicked

"Yes I am just not visible. I'm going to go to the garden where it is a little quieter and where nobles are less likely to harass me as much"

"And how will I find you for your next song?" Siona said concerned

"I'm only going to be invisible till I get to the gardens, don't worry" Evuna said touching Siona on the arm and making her jump

"Ha! that's payback from frightening me all those times" Evuna giggled

"Very funny you" She wiggled her finger at where she thought Evuna was

"Take care now, I'll see you soon" Evuna says as she walks away. She makes sure she keeps to the walls as she maneuvers her way around the people, making sure she doesn't bump into anyone. Finally she made it to the gardens and found a alcove that was relatively unused. It looked to not be used much at all, in fact the seat had a thick layer of dust.

After waiting a few seconds to make sure no one had followed her, she unveiled herself then walked out of the alcove in a attempt to explore the garden. But of course the nobles could not hold their questions any longer and wished to speak to her. It was a man with golden attire and red accents with a sun symbol on his belt. A noble of Elgar'nan, which pestered Evuna on where she had learnt her song and whether she could sing for him and his family. Evuna politely refused, saying that the song just came to her one night, which is technically true as it just came up on her phone one night and she listened to it. She couldn't say she learned it from the fade or tell the truth as that would give away her otherworldly knowledge, which definitely cannot happen. So she will have to let them think she wrote the songs herself, as much as she would love to give credit to the original artist from her world. They spoke some more until the man finally left to pester someone else. 

She continued strolling through the garden as nobles stopped her to ask the same questions. All of them she politely refused and made polite conversation. Learning a bit of information about the nobles while she was at it as well. If she was going to play the game then she will play it as best as she can and absorb all the information she can to her advantage. She continued like that for awhile, socialising with the nobles hearing gossip and information like about how a Lord Nerien was seen bedding another woman of Andruils favour, a noble follower of Dirthamen had his tongue sliced off for telling secrets he was supposed to keep, and a small rumour of a elvhen rebellion that most of the nobles laughed off as something small, believing nothing will come from it. 

After awhile Siona appeared again bringing small sandwiches, nibbles and wine. Making sure no more nobles were after her, she grabbed a handful of the foods and a glass of wine, thanking Siona she quickly moved to the alcove she was in before. Pushing the dust off of the seat with her magic she sat and ate, thinking upon all she had heard and admiring the beautiful flowers around her. After eating her stash of food she sat there for a while, sipping upon the wine in relaxation before she socialised again. Putting her wine glass down for a moment she admiring a deep blue flower that seemed to lightly glow with soft magic, running her thumb on the soft petals with a smile on her face, lost in thought when someone spoke right next to her ear.

"Beautiful isn't it" a deep voice spoke

Evuna got the fright of her life. Her mind instantly going into fight mode at the unknown person next to her, she drew her blade and took hold of the throat of the person, blade underneath their chin. Lahlas' training coming in handy for the first time. 

"Who sent you!" She snarled, angry that this person ruined her peace to try and assassinate her. She was not going to die here. 

"No one, I wished to speak to the woman who silenced an entire ballroom with but a song, not murder her" The person spoke calmly with a small smirk on his face, despite the knife at his throat. Evuna's eyes went wide in realisation, she would know that voice anywhere. She was face to face with Solas, a younger version of him of course but it was him. He was the one staring at her before at the beginning of the ball, he had dark brownish auburn dreads that were shaved at the side, with a silver wolf mask upon his face.

Of all the things that could happen at the ball she didn't expect to see him talking to her. He was seen as a god to the people, he should be more interested in the company of the nobles and Evanuris. Not a mere singer like her, yes she had taken the people speechless by her performance but she was not interesting or powerful like the people around her. Then she realised she was staring and he had a smug grin upon his face, blushing and embarrassed she found her tongue again.

"S..Ahhg, Fen'harel you sneaky ass!" Evuna pushed him away with a snarl, slipping her knife back into it's sheath. She had almost called him Solas by accident, something that would sure raise questions. What was he doing sneaking up on her like that? Seeing his face on game was something but this is a whole other level. This was him in the flesh, this was not pixels on a screen but real life and he looked so .. beautiful. Her gut was a mess of nerves in his presence

"Perhaps, but I'm not hiding from the nobles" he said, he grin still on his face from her flustered state

"I'm not hiding, I simply wanted to eat and drink in the peace of the garden" Evuna said as it was what she was doing "And what reason does a god have for speaking with a mere singer in an alcove, think of the rumours that would spread" she said with her eyebrow cocked

"I am no god. I came to ask you about your song and as for the rumours, let them think what they want" He said the last part with a devious smirk. Evuna slightly blushing at the thought. 'If he keeps smirking at me like that I'm going to turn into a tomato' she thought to herself. 

"I know you're not but don't let your enemies hear that. Otherwise what would you wish to know about my song?"

"I will keep that in mind" He said with a curious look to her "I wish to know how you produced music by yourself while also singing, you must have incredible focus to be able to blend the music into one triumphant harmony. Even the gods were speechless, and not a lot can quiet their constant squabbling.

"It took a bit of practice to focus upon the music I wished to hear in the air, but once I mastered that it was as easy as breathing" She spoke with a smile "Did I really leave the gods speechless?" She said as a smirk pulled at her features

"Yes in fact I do believe Sylaise had her mouth open and almost drooled upon Andruils head" he laughed

Evuna laughed with him at the absurdity of what Solas said and of her current situation. She was having a joke with Solas. SOLAS of all people and his laugh made her melt like a puddle of goo. Just a year ago she was heartbroken from him leaving her in trespasser even though it was only a game to her then. And now he was right here. She hopes she can become friends with him at least, as he is real, with is own emotions, likes, dislikes and opinions like everyone else. She can't just press the right buttons and he'll fall in love with her and she doubts he would ever look at her that way. She just hopes she can be there for him and help him, it is why she is here after all.

"Evuna it is almost time to ... oh" Siona had peaked her head into the alcove "I'm sorry to disturb your private moment lord Fen'harel but it is time for Lady Evuna to sing" Siona said with a red face and a small bow, desperately trying to hide some giggles

"Oh for, Siona you dirty minded woman. It was nothing like that!" Evuna said shaking her head in her hands

"Actually it was exactly like that, I do believe you thrust yourself upon me at first sight" he said in sexual innuendo. The tips of Evuna's ears went red with embarrassment.

"OH MY GOSH NO! don't you twist this you devious wolf I did not thrust myself upon you in passion" She scolded, while waggling her finger at him "I had a blade at his throat cause I thought he was going to assassinate me!" she explained looking to Siona in plea. But she just had her hand over her mouth in a attempt to hide her laughter.

 

"If you say so" Siona said in a sing song way

"Uhgg" Evuna groaned out loud, standing up "I'll need to preform now, Thank you for the chat and farewell wolf" she said with a nod to her head, turning around to leave but he captured her hand. Turning around to see him looking up at her while he slowly pressed a kiss to her hand. If she didn't look like a tomato before, she sure would have now

"See you soon, little song bird" He spoke with his lips brushing up against her hand and a wolfish smile. 

"Umm yes, okay, thank you and I'll be going now" she squeaked, puling her hand out of his grip and turning around, high tailing away with Siona next to her red with laughter. 

Moving her way around the ballroom she got herself to the stage just in time, quickly moving onto the stage she takes a deep breath to calm herself and sings her next song. Something that might ruffle some feathers with the gods, quite a bit. 

All that afterlife, I don't hold with it  
All your gods are false, just get used to it  
Let's go out tonight, kill some stubborn myths  
Set those ghosts alight, get into it

No one's getting younger  
Would you like a souvenir?  
Let it take you under  
Feel your worries disappear  
Pow

'Cos if you don't believe, it can't hurt you  
And when you let it leave, it can't hurt you  
'Cos if you don't believe, then you know, then you know  
It can never do you harm  
'Cos if you don't believe, it can't hurt you

Singing the rest of the song she finishes with shocked, confused and angry faces yet again. And after a pause they all clapped, some reluctantly than others. It was expected however as she did just say their gods were fake. Evuna then bowed and left the stage. Feeling exhausted she went up to Siona

"Siona I think I would like to retire for the night now if that is alright?"

"Of course, I will bring some food to your rooms. However I would ward yourself tonight as that song was beautiful, but I'm afraid some would have taken offence" Siona said nervously

"Don't worry Siona I will, they won't get past me. Thank you" Evuna said as she left to go to her rooms. She became Invisible again and weaved between the people again until she finally got out of the ballroom. Retiring to her rooms she warded her rooms and locked her door. Then she shed, placing her dress upon the back of her chair so it wouldn't crumple and her mask, foot wraps, and necklace upon the desk. Finally free, she takes a bath to wash off the makeup and relax from the stress of dealing with stupid snobby nobles. It was only the first day and she felt exhausted from the fake smiles and false pleasantries. She'll have to get used to it supposedly though as if she was going to be here in this world she needs to be able to play the game to her advantage. She is unsure how she will pull it to her advantage yet, it is all new to her and alot to take in, making her feel a bit lost, and she has no allies otherwise Mythal herself, but she will do as best she can. Solas here is different as well, presumably younger, more mischievous and free from the guilt of the people. She hopes she can find a way to help him in the future, and maybe perhaps she can find a way to save some of the people from the fall of the veil? The good ones that are not malevolent but with a beautiful soul like Siona. It is just an idea for now though. 

Exiting the bath she puts her underwear back on and decides to pull a night gown on for once, as if Siona is going to help her get dressed in the morning for the ball it would be easier to just get up and answer the door, than find where she threw her robe last, as she is rather groggy in the mornings and takes some time to adjust to her surroundings. Plus she liked the feel of silk upon her skin as she discovered with the dress Mythal gave her. Crawling into bed, she snuggles into the luxury of her soft bed. Before she could close her eyes however, she decided to put a ward around her bed as well, one that will leave an intruder petrified and unable to move, just in case. Feeling a bit secure, she let herself slip away into the fade to talk to her friends of her exciting day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SOOO that was the first day of the ball, not too many interesting things have happened as the nobles do not know what to think of her yet, but as the ball goes on they will show their opinions more. Not sure if I'm going to do each day of the ball however as it might drag on quite a bit if I did, just have to see what happens. (Also sorry this took me some time to post, I had to go to work a lot and do life stuff)
> 
> Songs  
> Aurora - All Is Soft Inside  
> Nothing But Thieves - Graveyard Whistling
> 
> Personally if you are looking to listen to some out of this world ethereal songs, look Aurora up as she is an amazing artist. 
> 
> Also if you wish I can put up a drawing of Evuna wearing her ballgown, it's nothing that great as I'm not a pro at digital art yet, But if you wish to see it then just leave a comment and I'll add it in to the next chapter. And if you would like me do draw anything else you can always ask.
> 
> Next, a bit of drama and Evuna has her life threatened. ( ͡☉ ͜ʖ ͡☉)


	8. Bleeding Souls

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Evuna takes her first life and breaks down again. More singing and heated talks with Andruil. Also be ready for an emotional roller coaster and gory details.
> 
> For those who wanted a drawing of Evuna all dressed up, here it is. Also please ignore my sub-par drawing skills as I am fairly new to digital art. -_-

 

After her first day, Evuna continued to sing for another two days with songs that excited the people and others that left them resentful with hateful glances towards her. Luckily no one had tried to have her killed yet for her songs but she wasn't counting on that luck to last. The two days went fairly quick for her, with nobles making conversation with her, trying their best to find her weaknesses to use as leverage. Others just desperate to try and have her sing for them personally, so they seem more powerful than others. One such noble even asked for her to bond to them for eternity so he could listen to her sing for him whenever he pleased. Other nobles asked to dance as well as poking and prodding at her with their questions and backhanded compliments. She did accept to dance with some but not all. Only those who were slightly pleasant to talk to did she accept to dance with. The others were just desperate to use the sight of them dancing with her as a power play.

She did have a few enraged nobles come to her however, telling her it was blasphemy to sing such songs. But she side stepped their anger quite gracefully by being politely pleasant, complementing them on their achievements and then planting the idea that her songs could have different meanings. Leaving the nobles confused on if they liked her or not as they say their farewells. Others were not as easy to please so she just had to agree to disagree with them and leave it at that. Leaving them where they stand, when they would not accept her words and walk up to another noble lord or lady to talk to, as if to say your dismissed as politely as possible and leaving them looking like a fool to whomever saw their outrage.

None of the Evanuris had spoken to her just yet either which seemed like a blessing and a curse, a blessing they have seen her as insignificant enough not to talk to her yet, and a curse as she is left in trepidation for when they may or may not speak to her. She had only spoken to Mythal once as she had been walking around the ballroom mingling. They spoke of what songs should be sung next and how excellent the ball had been going, she could speak of nothing else to her as ears were plenty around them. The Dread Wolf had not spoken to her much either, most of the time he had an entourage of men and women hanging off of him, vying for his attention. He did speak once to her however as she stepped down from the stage, he whispered close to her ear.

"The gods are unsettled from your songs, little songbird"

She jumped at his voice at first but then got goosebumps from his voice and breath on her shoulder. Turning her head to reply was not the best idea however as they were now just inches from touching. Surprisingly she kept her composure when she replied but did end up speaking with a huskier voice at their closeness.

"And so they should little wolf" She spoke lowly so no other could hear, then walked away to cool her red face and find Siona for a drink. What he said was not lost on her however, it was a warning of some sort. Whether It was a warning to stop singing such blasphemous songs or warning of a knife in the back she was unsure but will be more wary never less.

 

It was the third night of the celebration, She was walking back to her quarters and felt so very tired of fake smiling to the nobles. The third day had been even more eventful than the second as the people seem to be taking notice of her even more. It was quite late and even Siona had retired, leaving dinner in Evuna's quarters for when she finally escapes the ball. Many had wanted to speak to her after her last finishing song which was quite blasphemous than most songs she had sung so far. She almost dragged her feet as she walked, her mind in a fog of sleepiness and not really paying too much attention to her surroundings. Just as she could see her door down the hallway however, she had the strangest feeling of being followed. Her hair was standing on end and desperately wanted to look around her for the culprit. But she restrained herself and made herself go on as she were before so as who ever was following her didn't suspect anything. Adrenaline pumping in here veins, she wasn't sleepy now as she went wide eyed and kept up the same slow pace as before. Her nerves were on edge, she didn't know if it was her body just freaking out for no reason but she wasn't going to take any chances, especially not here where assassination is as common as breathing.

Taking a few more slow steps, she came a bit closer to her door, Her fingers were brushing the hilt of her dagger, when she heard it. The distinct noise of a dagger being unsheathed alerted her of the danger at her back, drawing a barrier upon herself before she turned around to her assailant. The person was masked, that is all that she saw besides the knife coming down upon her shoulder, it bounced off her barrier however and as the assailant was shocked as the blow didn't make its mark she acted quickly, stepping in towards them and slicing deeply into their neck. Blood sprayed from the mans neck and on Evuna, coating her top half of her in blood as she watched them grab at their neck in a attempt stop their life from slipping away, falling to the floor and withering a bit in agony still he stilled. Evuna's eyes had not left the person, she was breathing hard still with adrenaline, and now anger. Anger at the man for attacking her, anger at them for risking their life for a stupid game, and anger at herself for taking the killing blow. If she just stopped him, take his knife away and try and talk to him perhaps then he might have yet lived. He could have a family that would sure notice his death and morn in grief.

Her fists were clenched and shaking with emotion while still staring at the body on the floor when she heard a voice in front of her, making her jump.

"If I were you I would hide the body before it makes a scene" Solas says in front of her with a bloody dagger of ethereal magic in his hand. Evuna now noticing the man on the floor also had a wound in his back.

"I don't need your help wolf" she said with a sneer. Why was he here? she didn't need him to see her breakdown over something most of the people wouldn't bat an eyelash upon doing. As she spoke she used a spell to clear up the blood and the wounds upon the persons body.

"It seems so, however I'd prefer you to not die just yet" He spoke with a curious look in his eyes "This is your first time isn't it?"

She gritted her teeth at his comment to hold back the angry tears threatening to fall. She did not reply, letting him fill in the blanks with his own assumptions as she searched the dead person's pockets for any clue on who decided to assassinate her. The task made her want to scream and run as far as she could, but she had to do it, as it will soon become her everyday occurrence, she must learn to deal with it. She is never going to get far in this world if she ran from all her responsibilities.

"I can do that if you'd like?"

"No, I killed him so It is my responsibility to find out who wanted my death" She replied in a clipped tone, attempting to keep her control over her emotions. Finally she found what she was looking for. In a pocket on the inside of the persons coat was a formal looking letter, with a seal that looked like a hare being picked up by an eagle and a bow and arrow behind it. The letter read.

 

Kill the birds song before the thing ruffles any more feathers. I shall not have her ruin my chosen's celebration with her honeyed words.

 

-A

"Andruil wants me dead already, I'm surprised she didn't try sooner with her antics" Evuna almost spat. Andruil had been getting increasingly upset on her songs, yelling at anyone who dared speak Evuna's name to her.

"That was to be expected, she almost tore through a servant that was quite thrilled upon one of your more blasphemous songs. Luckily Mythal stepped in before anything could occur" Fen'harel explained with a scowl on his face

Slipping the letter into the top of her foot wraps she began the task of hiding the body from plain view. Grabbing the persons arms she looked around in thought, till she saw one of the rooms Siona had used once to clean up a plate Evuna had smashed on her way to the kitchens.

Seeing the small broom closet nearby she began to pull the person towards it, while Solas simply stared as she pulled away.

"If you're quite finished staring at me, you can help me move this one out of sight" she said with a few grunts

"If I remember correctly you said you didn't want any help" he said in a snarky way with a smug look and his hands behind his back, continuing to simply watch

"Then go scamper off then little wolf, and let me do my job in peace" She growled as she came near the storage room, opening the door she puts all her effort into pulling the body into the small space, once inside she stood there and stared at the man in thought. Then an idea came to her mind. Running to her room she grabbed the half empty bottle of wine she had been drinking and ran back to the storage room. Uncorking the bottle, she poured some of the wine on them to make sure they smelled intoxicated.

"What are you doing in there?" Solas said, slightly frightening her out of her raging thoughts. He had been so quiet, for a moment she thought he had actually gone.

"Making them look like they died by poison at least, as it is a common weapon used in the game" she snapped still peeved that he had not left yet. "Less suspicious than a man dead with not a mark on him" she grated through her teeth

"It.. is actually more common than you'd think" he said with a blank face as if it was the most obviously well known thing to happen. At his words however, something finally snapped.

"Well I'm doing this all for nothing then great!" She shouts, slamming the door in frustration "What are you even doing here, besides being a pain in my ass because I've had quite enough of snotty nosed ass holes for one night thank you!" Her voice cracks for a moment, angry tears threatening to spill again

"Making sure you're not dead yet, I caught word from Mythal about the attempt on your life, and sought to stop the end of the balls entertainment" He said with a raised eyebrow at her outburst

"Oh why thank you Dread Wolf for saving my life! Is that what you want to hear, cause I'm pretty sure I was the one to slice the persons throat" She said with sarcasm and a ball in her throat

With a sigh and a slump in his shoulders, he spoke "No, that is not what I meant, I just wanted to make sure..."

"It does not matter what you were trying to do, I would have been perfectly fine. You've done your duty to Mythal, all is done and I am now going to bed. Goodnight Wolf" She spoke with a strong but broken voice, hurriedly walking to her rooms in large steps. She could hear him calling after her but her main focus was to get to her rooms before she broke down in front of him like a pathetic child. As the tears were already falling as she entered her rooms.

Finally inside her rooms, she locked the door, put up her many wards around her room, then headed straight to the bath. Striping from her bloodstained clothes she gives out a few sobs at the sight. With a flick of her wrist the blood is gone and she proceeds to bathe herself. Scrubbing furiously at her skin, the blood feels like it never comes off, tears never seem to stop as the scene of slicing through the persons throat and them struggling on the floor goes on and on in her mind like a broken record player, every time refreshing the wound upon her soul.

After sometime she gives up on scrubbing her skin raw, the blood long gone. She exits the bath and dries herself, dresses then returns to her bed. Curling up into a ball she screams into the pillow to release all of her pent up anger tainting her body, and slowly sobs herself into the fade.

Even in the fade, the stain of the persons death was heavy on her soul. Knowledge and Creativity tried to come up to her but she sent them away. Knowledge didn't understand how to deal with her emotions and she was afraid her sad state may corrupt Creativity's gentle spirit. So there in her small garden against the balcony railing, she sobbed to herself. She could feel demons pressing upon her barrier, sensing her distress. She also felt something else, something that felt like a cool breeze touch her barrier as well but she didn't know who they were so ignored it as well. After some time, her tears had all dried up even in the fade and she was left with a heavy numbness in her chest, this is when Wisdom appeared to her

"What has upset you fade child" Wisdom spoke with a concerned voice

"I've killed someone, and I didn't even know their name" she says looking down over the balcony. Who could they have been, They were one of Andruil's people of course but did he have people he cared about like family and friends? She didn't even look at their face behind the mask.

"Did you kill them with malice in your heart" Wisdom asked

"No, I just didn't want to die" she said in a small voice "I didn't want to do it, but he left me no choice"

"Then you did the right thing. Taking another's life shall never be an easy thing but it is the way of life. One must die so another will survive"

"But they could have been a good man for all I know. And now he's dead because of my recklessness" She says with a broken voice as she looks down to her shaking hands

"Sadly they could never have been a good man as his dreams were not his own"

Evuna looks up to Wisdom then with a confused look, Then an idea came to mind to what she may mean.  
"So you're saying he only dreamt for whatever Andruil desired for him to do?"

"In a sense yes"

Evuna was quiet for awhile till her thoughts took her spiralling again and she spoke in a small voice.

"His death still haunts me never less"

"As it always shall, only time will make the burden of death easier to carry" Wisdom spoke, placing a hand upon her shoulder

Evuna took in Wisdom's words, perhaps she was right. She had gone through many things in her life and so far only time lessened the pain. She was going to ask Wisdom more but then felt the tug upon her body, calling for her to awaken.

"Thank you Wisdom, you have been a great friend to me in my troubled times" she said with a small broken smile

She thought Wisdom looked slightly surprised at what she said but didn't have time to figure it out before everything stared to become blurry.

"Anytime you need me, my friend" Wisdom spoke with a small smile upon her face before her face blurred into darkness as Evuna was pulled back into her body.

Awakening, she slowly lifted her throbbing head from the bed. Her heavy crying had given her the worst headache, and she was sure if she looked in the mirror her eyes would be red and puffy like balloons. Pulling herself off of the bed she rubbed at her dry itchy eyes and waddled her way to the bathroom. The heavy feeling in her chest had not left but she didn't have any more tears left, and was still left with numbed emotions.

As she expected, she looked like a wreck in the bathroom mirror. Her eyes were red and puffy, her hair was in a mess of tangles and she could clearly see the crust of dried tears around her eyes and down her cheeks. Turning away from the mirror she strips and slips into the baths warm waters. Curled in a ball she stares at the waters ripples for sometime with an empty mind. The quietness of the room deafening as she sat there like an emotionless statue.

Eventually she cleans herself up and dresses. Staring at the mirror again she uses a healing spell on her face to stop the headache and puffy eyes, Clearing the evidence of last nights tears. She almost looks like nothing had happened, except for her lifeless eyes but only she can notice that. Applying the makeup Siona had given her and slipping on her mask, she plasters on a smile and mentally readies herself. She wished she didn't have to deal with any more people and just hide away. But the day won't stop for her, and she had songs to sing, and nobles to sway.

Siona hadn't come up with any food yet like she usually does, so she went down to the kitchens and snagged a few sandwiches to eat on her way to the ball. There she bumped into Siona, she seemed to be in a rush with a serving tray in her hand.

"Oh Evuna I'm so sorry I didn't come up. I had a Lady that demanded to have her food taken back and a new one cooked for her five times. Two nobles demanding wine and cheese instantly and then on my way to you I found a dead man in the closet when I tried to clean up a broken glass that one of the lady's nearby had accidentally dropped. And I'm not even going to talk about the two naked individuals wrapped up in the silk decorations" Siona rambled to Evuna, waving her arms about ecstatically.

"That's alright Siona, there's no need to worry. I just pinched some sandwiches from the kitchen" Evuna says with a smile that didn't reach her eyes.

Siona stared at her then with a strange look and a wrinkled brow

"What? Did I screw up my makeup?" Evuna asked confused at what Siona could be looking at

"No it's fine but.... are you alright? You don't seem to be our glowing self"

At Siona's words Evuna felt a stab in the chest and sighed.

"No I'm not Siona but I will be in time. There's no need to worry" she tries to say with a smile again

"Are you sure? I'm here if you need me to talk to"

"I'm sure, but thank you. I just can't wait for this ball to be over already" She didn't think Siona needed any more stress than she already had.

"Me and you both" Siona about sighs "Oh no that reminds me I was on my way to get Lord Aeno his tiny pastries, I gotta go Evuna I'm sorry. See you later on yeah?"

"Of course, good luck Siona" She says in farewell as Siona rushes to the kitchens.

Evuna continues to the ball and makes it just in time to begin the starting song of the day. She felt terrible about killing the person, but on top she was also angry at Andruil and the rest of the so called gods. If it wasn't for their greed for power she wouldn't have had to kill them. If the person wasn't indoctrinated so, they may have still been alive. So she decided that this song would send its own message. After waiting for the right time for the ball to officially begin, she stepped up upon the stage and sung.

I'll seek you out  
Flay you alive  
One more word and you won't survive  
And I'm not scared of your stolen power  
See right through you any hour

I won't soothe your pain  
I won't ease your strain  
You'll be waiting in vain  
I got nothing for you to gain

I'm taking it slow  
Feeding my flame  
Shuffling the cards of your game  
And just in time  
In the right place  
Suddenly I will play my ace

I won't soothe your pain  
I won't ease your strain  
You'll be waiting in vain  
I got nothing for you to gain

Eyes on fire  
Your spine is ablaze  
Felling any foe with my gaze  
And just in time  
In the right place  
Steadily emerging with grace

Ah, ah, ah, felling any foe with my gaze  
Ah, ah, ah, steadily emerging with grace  
Ah, ah, ah, felling any foe with my gaze  
Ah, ah, ah, steadily emerging with grace

 

After she finished she bowed and left the stage, listening to the crowd slowly clap to her performance. It was her darkest song so far as most of her songs at least were fairly upbeat, with a few lyrics pointing at being blasphemous. The crowd could also see it as she was singing about the game, but it was her own message to Andruil and the Evanuris. Yes I'm still alive, and don't mess with me.

She spoke to a fair few nobles after that. Some were upset as perusal but she convinced them that the song was about playing the game. Slowly she made her way to one of the gardens for a breather, in this garden however was a fountain of a barely clothed elvhen woman with water coming from her eyes and mouth. Around the fountain was deep purple shrubbery, deep red lotus flowers and vines climbing up the walls nearby. This garden was different from the other gardens and seemed fairly deserted. Perhaps the weeping lady scared them away with her sorrowful look? She did not know but cherished these small moments of escape.

"So the little songbird still tweets I see. And I so hoped I wouldn't have to listen to anymore of your horrid songs" A feminine scratchy voice spoke behind her, breaking her peace

Turning around she came face to face with Andruil. She had long red hair cascading down her back while wearing a dark grey and red dress adorned with rubies and gold. If Evuna had not done her research upon the appearance of the gods, she may have thought she were another noble come to pester her. But she would not make that mistake, especially when it could risk her life.

"I'm sorry to upset Andruil, but I do like to sing and your mother seems to like the songs as well, unless I'm mistaken" Evuna says, taking a drink from her wine glass with disinterest. This may go bad. She was attempting to avoid the gods for this very reason, She would not bow to them like the rest of the people, and that may just get her killed.

"My mother would have never chosen you to sing if she was of her right mind" Andruil spoke, drawing a blood red knife from a hidden pocket in her dress. Playing with it in the light as a threat "You are a mistake, and if you were a smart little bird you would stop singing before you get your wings clipped" Andruil spoke in a deadly voice. Her eyes throwing daggers at her as she continued to stare Evuna down.

She would not back down however. This is what Mythal wanted as well, she wanted the other Evanuris stirred up and that is what she did.

"You would be clipping wings that are not there dear Andruil. I am no bird, just something worse" Evuna just about growled at her with a feral smile on her lips. Her hand was upon her own dagger as she spoke however. If things got violent, she wan't going to go down without a fight. Andruil snarled in displeasure at her words and readied herself into a stance of attack.

"There you are Andruil. I do believe June is looking for you, he said something about a surprise" Fen'harel spoke with disinterest as he walked in casually, diffusing the situation.

Andruil looked to Fen'harel, then back to Evuna "This is not over" she threatened taring menacingly at Evuna for a few seconds till she hurried off to find June. Walking up to Evuna he gently took hold of her arm and indicated to go behind some large shrubbery for some privacy to speak. She nodded and let him lead her over, neither saying a word.

"Do you have a death wish speaking to Andruil like that?" Fen'harel spoke once he was sure Andruil was gone and they were out of earshot "She shall not stop now until your blood is on her hands" He scolded Evuna.

"I shall not bend to any of those pretend gods. They are all power hungry fools, taking slaves for fun and killing for pleasure and I'd prefer to die than kiss their feet!" Evuna snarled with her hands on her hips, she would not be talked down to like she was a child, especially not from him.

"You truly feel this way?" he said with a bewildered look, looking into her eyes as if seeing her for the first time.

"Yes, I am not blind as the others may be. Why else did you think I sung such scandalous songs?"she said with her brow raised. Sighing she spoke again. This time in a sombre voice "I do not care whether or not you disagree with my actions. I shall fight tooth and claw before I fold" The fiery anger from before had left her and now she was left with a heavy heart as she looked upon the landscape and to the distant forest. How she wished she could run and hide in the depths of it and away from this place.

He took a breath, looking to the weeping woman in thought before he spoke again.

"You may be surprised to hear that I agree with you on two notions. The Evanuris are merely powerful beings grasping for more power" he then looked to her with a serious look "and you are no mere songbird as I originally thought"

"And perhaps you shouldn't judge a book by it's cover wolf" She warned then downed the rest of her wine in one go "Oh look at that I think I need another drink. Do excuse me"

She then made her way around him, wanting to escape from his deep stare that wouldn't leave, but just as she thought she had gotten away, a tug on her arm stopped her. Turning around with an upraised eyebrow in question, he spoke.

"That does not mean I agree with you throwing yourself into dangerous situations such as before" he spoke in a low voice "If you plan on doing something like that again, at least inform me before hand"

"And why should I?" she said sceptically

"So I may assist you with your rebellious plans if you would let me?"

"As if you don't have any rebellious plans of your own?" she mocked lightly

"I might perhaps have a few" he says with a sly smile leaving her with a small devious smile of her own

"So be it wolf, If I plan on riling up one of the Evanuris again I shall let you know. As I would expect you to do the same for me?" she said with a coked eyebrow. She wasn't going to let this be a one sided deal after all "We may not need each others help. But as I see it, two heads are better than one"

"I suppose that is fair" he said after some thought. Taking her hand, he brushed his lips upon her knuckles as he spoke "I agree with your terms then little rebel" kissing her hand slowly while Evuna turned bright red.

"Oh stop it you big flirt before I turn into a tomato" she pushes him back lightly in jest to try and diffuse her fluttering emotions. It doesn't work, as he chuckles at her act making her stomach flutter ten fold. "As much as I'd like to sit here and slander the Evanuris. It is almost time for me to sing again"

"Don't let me keep you then. Hunt well" He spoke with a devious smile

"You too wolf" she smiled back, walking away back into the ballroom. She had been a roller coaster of emotions today and it was starting to drain on her, but now knowing that Solas was there to help her out if need be made her feel a bit lighter than before. The weight of her first kill was still heavy upon her but she felt like she could carry it a bit better, and maybe crack a few genuine smiles.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Soooooooo yeah a lot of stuff happened for her and she is very emotional in this one, she is a mix between being sad, angry and numb. Also she is now showing more of her feral side now after Andruil's stunt.
> 
> More smug solas as well, for he did say he was very hot blooded and cocky in his youth ( ͡~ ͜ʖ ͡°)
> 
> Don't think he shall be that hot blooded in the story SORRRY. As I see it he has grown out of it at this age. HOWEVER he may slip a few times.
> 
> Song  
> Blue Foundation-Eyes On Fire
> 
> Next, devious plans and dances with the wolf.


	9. Indomitable Focus

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lives threatened, Evanuris angered. Friends confused and wolves baited.

The rest of Evuna's day was surprisingly uneventful after her spat with Andruil. Except for a little drama she may have inadvertently caused. But was proud she had. 

Lord Aeno was a follower of Falon'din and had been boasting to her about his wealth and the amount of elvhen woman he had bedded, then eluded that she could be one of them, slapping her arse for show. However Evuna knew he was only a Lord because of the Lady he had bonded to, Lady Adhlea. Unlike Aeno, Lady Adhlea was quite pleasant to talk to, one of the rare people to truly enjoy every song she sung, and one of Mythal's followers. Adhlea and her family were well known with most of their wealth coming from their variety of businesses across all of elvhenan, but also known for being the kindest of them. So when Evuna saw Adhlea nearby she called her over. 

Aeno seemed pissed that she had called his bonded over but kept a neutral face. While Adhlea greeted her with a bright smile

"Oh Lady Adhlea I was just having a chat to your bonded about his many triumphs with women and I must ask if it's really true?" She mocked ever so lightly

"Oh do tell me I'm ever so interested to hear" Adhlea pointedly asked with an accusing eyebrow to Aeno.

"Well, he told me he had conquered many women since he officially bonded to you. Including a young blonde woman last night in the gardens. What was her name again. Lady Emitha wasn't it?" She spoke her question to Aeno with a pleasant smile on her face. 

"That's outrageous! I did no such thing. How dare you accuse me of such a scandalous act!" the 'lord' Aeno spoke loudly in an attempt to defend himself

"Why I can ask Lady Emitha where she got those marks upon her neck and wrists, in which she is poorly hiding might I say" She dropped the act, showing her disgust plainly on her face.

"Well It is a good thing we hadn't properly bonded yet isn't it Aeno" Lady Adhlea growled at him while he begged her to believe him. "You have my thanks Lady Evuna. I had suspected he was doing such things but this just proves it. Do call for me if you ever need anything" she spoke, taking Evuna's hand and squeezing it to show her genuine appreciation. Then walked away, with Aeno whimpering after her. 

It seemed Evuna may have made an ally. It wasn't her original purpose for calling Lady Adhlea over however. She just didn't want her to continue being with such a terrible man. 

The next day she woke and dressed as normal, Wisdom helped talk to her that night in the fade as the death still haunted her mind. She spoke to her of various stories of wisdom to keep her mind from wandering to darker thoughts. After sometime getting ready, she was ready to head out when she heard frantic knocking at her door. Opening it she comes face to face with Siona panting with a tray of breakfast foods.

"I'm so ...sorry... I'm.. late again" Siona pants threw breaths 

"You didn't have to run here to bring me food. You know I can just grab some from the kitchens Siona" She says as she takes the tray from Siona's hands and ushers her in "You have way too much on your plate besides serving me"

"I know I don't have to but I want to, plus I have something important to tell you" Siona says after she finally catches her breath

"And what's that?" Evuna asks as she sits down to eat

"Andruil got a fancy new bow from June and plans on using it today. I don't know what on, but I hope it's not on one of us. Mythal promised it won't be but I'm not too sure" she says nervously

"Well she seemed pretty keen on killing me yesterday so I wouldn't put it pass her to defy Mythal" Evuna said through bites of food

"WHAT WHEN DID THIS HAPPEN! you should have told me this sooner. I'll have to find some way to keep you out of her eye line today. I'll have to tell the girls as well maybe we can distract her sometimes..." 

"Siona I don't want any of you to risk your lives for me do you understand?" Evuna cut her off of her ramblings "I can make sure I'm out of sight, just promise me you won't get yourself killed for my sake. Please Siona?" She pleaded

"Okay...But I'll be keeping an eye out" Siona reluctantly agreed 

Finishing the last of her food, Evuna chatted and laughed a bit with Siona with the small amount of time they had until the ball began. Then said her farewells to sing for the start of the ball. 

She sung a light hearted song today as her talk with Siona had lifted her spirits a bit. She just hoped the small happiness Siona's friendship had given her lasted throughout the day. But she knew deep down that was never going to be true. For the knowledge that Andruil was most likely going to test her new weapon lingered at the back of her mind. She knew most of the elvhen servants here quite well and was some what friends with most of them, but not as close as Siona and her. However she will not stand to have Andruil hurt any of the people. 

She has seen more than enough of Andruil, but not so much of the other 'gods'. They all usually have a large entourage of people swarming them at all times including their own bodyguards. However she has had glimpses of them every now and then through the days of the ball.

Ghilan'nain had white long hair,wearing a silver and white dress and a silver circlet upon her head. Evuna had been told it was tradition for the newly ascended to wear pure white, but it suited the dark souled woman well. Her eyes were doe eyed, most likely why they called her a halla. But her irises were pitch black and had a look of malice intent. Dirthamen was always hooded, obscuring most of his facial features while wearing a garment of blacks and purples with silver accents and amethysts. Most of the time he is found in the darkest corner of the ball, with most around him talking in whispers of collected secrets. Falon'din was not seen very far from Dirthamen, wearing clothes of blacks and greys, with silver accents as well and small sapphires embedded into the fabric. The sapphires made his light blue, almost white irises stand out from his jet black long hair. He looked like the pure personification of death. Sylaise was usually always on the move around the ballroom, basking in attention. She had Strawberry blonde hair while wearing a beige dress with gold accents and rubies to symbolise her affinity to fire no doubt. Elgar'nan however did not have many surrounding him at one time, the people seemingly being too afraid to accidentally spark his anger upon them. He had a silvery blonde beard, White narrow, judging eyes and always a small snarl upon his face. And of course the 'god' of the sun wore mainly gold and white with diamonds.

She truly despised them all. Reading about them, and what cruelties they had committed was one thing, seeing them in person just solidified her hate toward them. She had hoped maybe some of them, maybe even one had at least a little good in their heart. But she had occasionally seen them all behave in ruthless ways. Whether it was belittling an elvhen servant, promising death to someone who angered them, or simply their intense greed for power radiating from them. For some reason however, niggling at the back of her anger at the Evanuris, was a deep sadness for something lost. The feeling confused her immensely but she tried not to dwell on it for too long.

So when Sylaise approached her sometime after the morning song, the feeling reared it's head and Evuna had to tell herself to try her best not to snap at her too much.

"So Mythal's new pet sings again, oh and such a pretty little thing you are" She spoke, grabbing Evuna's face by the chin and tilting it from side to side "Perhaps I'll ask if I may personally borrow you sometime" dropping Evuna's face, she smiled suggestively.

"I bid you luck in your endeavour, but I dare say you shall not succeed in gaining permission to do such a thing" Evuna spoke with a menacing look to the woman as her grip on her wine glass came close to shattering. 

"Oh maybe I shouldn't ask for permission then, maybe I'll just take you and see how high I can really make you sing" Sylaise spoke into her ear, her strawberry blonde hair brushing over Evuna's shoulder as she circled her "How does that sound now pet" she purred

"And why would you think I would want to bed someone like you" Evuna spat looking Sylaise up and down in disgust. The woman in question was shocked into silence with her mouth wide open, along with the people surrounding her. Oh how Evuna wanted to laugh at her reaction, but she kept a straight face and walked away, the people that had surrounded them parting before her. Evuna was surprised herself that she walked away unscathed after that. Perhaps Sylaise truly hadn't been rejected before. But Evuna new it was most likely going to bite her back at a later date.

Walking out towards the gardens Evuna didn't even get a chance to calm her racing nerves as she saw Andruil and Ghilan'nain before her. Luckily they had their backs away from her so she cloaked herself and was going to try and escape from the gardens, but then she saw the third figure and her heart leapt in her chest with dread. She stayed cloaked in the shadows for awhile, the two Evanuris seemed to talk between themselves for a bit. Making Evuna feel silly for being so paranoid. But then their tone changed.

"Follow us now girl, as we shall be needing refreshments on our walk" Andruil snapped at the girl, walking away with Ghilan'nain with a menacing smirk on her face.

Her heart was beating like a drum in her ears as she silently followed them. The two Evanuris chatted pleasantly as they walked down the hallways. The servant was not however, they knew this was not just a pleasant walk, and they may never be able to walk back down these halls.

The two women made a left and opened a door into a large courtyard that seemed to have a variety of different training dummies and archery targets. A perfect place for Andruil to show Ghilan'nain her new bow. The bow in question Andruil retrieved from a door to the side showing Ghilan'nain with pride. Ghilan'nain's black soulless eyes beamed with excitement and pleaded to Andruil to demonstrate. So she did, shooting the Archery targets with her golden bow, the arrows burning the archery targets to ashes within an instant. 

"That's really nice Andruil, but I thought you were going to try it out on something more ... real?" Ghilan'nain goaded

"Oh of course, I was just giving you a small appetiser of what this beautiful bow can do" Andruil smiled "Oh what's your name...Siona isn't it? Do stand over there would you, it is much more appealing to the eye" She waved her hand in a vague direction in front of her.

Evuna didn't think her heart could pound any harder within her chest but it did. She knew she was most likely going to do something very stupid and reckless in a few moments but would do it again in a heartbeat. Siona is the one who kept her sane when she came to this world, she is the one that has kept her spirits high when she was low and she has become a important part of her life. She would not let these beasts take this pure souls life away, even if it meant her death.

Siona was shaking like a leaf with tears spilling from her eyes, the drinks upon her tray had fallen and smashed to the ground in her terrified state. And that seemed to entice the so called 'gods'

"You worthless girl, you had one job and you can't even do that properly" Ghilan'nain hissed like a possessed creature "No matter Andruil has something that can fix that" she smiled broadly

Andruil drew her bow at Siona. And Siona trembled even more.

"Please no, I am sorry I will fetch you new ones, I'll do anything, Please, no, no, no!" Siona chanted, clutching at her hair and going into what seemed to be a panic attack. 

"Oh but you are doing something for us dear, we just had an appetiser of what this bow can do" Andruil spoke, a smile looking onto its prey upon her face.

"And you're the main course"

"NOOOOOOOO"

The bow began to fly, and so did Evuna. Fade stepping in front of Siona she cast a barrier on the both of them and the arrow bounced off of Evuna's chest onto the floor. Her eyes were glowing a vibrant jade and she has never felt so angry before. But she forced the anger into a cool simmering rage. If there was going to be a fight, she needed a clear head. Lahlas had drilled it into her to do so in combat, teaching her to channel her anger when needed. And it is sure coming in handy now.

"YOU STUPID BITCH! HOW DARE YOU INTERFERE!" Andruil was fuming, her magic was swirling around her in a sinister looking red, her hair flying around her and her eyes glowing blood red. "When I kill you, I'll be sure to gift your head to my mother" she growled

That was her only warning before Andruil attacked, throwing her magic at Evuna in a mighty blow to drop her barrier. It worked, Evuna was not prepared as her barrier was blown apart and saw a giant boulder flying towards her. There was no way to stop it from reaching it's destination so she went with instinct. She quickly pulled at the fade and threw a stone fist at the boulder, shattering the boulder into small sharp shards that cut into her skin. She was bleeding at the side of her head and a few more down the rest of her body but that is all she knew as the fight wan't over. Evuna redrew her barrier in an instant and flung another stone fist at the dazed Andruil, hitting her mark. Andruil had been thrown back a few feet onto the floor. 

Evuna thinking that perhaps she was knocked out took a chance and quickly looked over to Siona to see if she were alright. She still had her barrier in place and looked very rattled and wide eyed, but alive. Turning back around, Andruil seemed to be picking herself up off of the ground clutching her stomach while Ghilan'nain stood by a pillar with a pleased smirk, enjoying the show no doubt.

Andruil spat blood on the ground as she finally got up and made eye contact with Evuna, and made an unearthly scream as she began to cast. She threw blinding white lightning at Evuna but this time she was ready. Deflecting the lightning and making it bounce off behind Andruil, almost hitting Ghilan'nain in the process.

The fight drew on, Andruil and Evuna throwing different magics at each other, ice, fire, nature, force and others she did know know the name of. Evuna mainly focused on using the fade against Andruil, as Andruil the almighty 'god' seemed like she could not replicate any kind of fade magic herself. As well as fighting Andruil and pushing her back when she got too close Evuna never moved from her protective position over Siona either, no matter how many times Andruil pushed her to move. If she did Andruil would surely kill Siona in vengeance. 

She does not know if she will survive Andruil's wrath. She seems to be holding her back for now by sheer luck and instinct but who knows how long that will last. And she did not know when she will run out of mana to protect herself as she has never pushed herself this hard before.

The fight seemed to drag on forever and Evuna could see that they now had an audience, making fighting Andruil even more difficult. More than once she had to throw a barrier upon some of the crowd to stop Andriul's magic from accidentally killing them. The woman was positively insane, lashing out violently without any thought.

 

"STOP THIS FOOLISH ACT AT ONCE" A feminine voice boomed. Quietening the crowd and stopping Andruil in her tracks. She had the look of a child that had just been caught in the cookie jar as Mythal appeared from the crowd. 

"What is the meaning of this, this is a time of celebration for our newly ascended. Not one of battle" Mythal spoke with intent waiting for her answer "Explain now"

"These two!" Andruil started, pointing in accusation to Evuna and Siona "attacked Ghilan'nain and I"

Gasps could be heard from the crowd of nosy nobles as they waited in bated breath for what would occur next.

"Is that true?" Mythal looks over to Evuna in question, in a slightly calmer tone

Still breathing haggardly from the fight she took a deep breath. She still had her barrier upon Siona and herself. Even though Mythal was now here did not mean Andruil would not strike her the minute her barrier was down again. Still with glowing eyes she looked to Mythal.

"No, neither of us attacked them. I merely protected Siona from being used as target practice and Andruil reacted by attacking both of us. I defended both of us until you turned up just now" Evuna spoke with steel in her tone.

The crowd whispered in silent muse at what she said, making their own opinions of what happened. The rest of the Evanuris were also there Evuna noticed and all seemingly had accusing eyes on her. Except for one wolf who had anger burning in his eyes toward Andruil. Mythal however had her eyes on shaking Siona.

"And what do you say happened my dear. Do not be afraid to tell the truth. You are protected here" Mythal spoke soothingly to Siona, kneeling down to her level with a arm upon her shoulder for support.

"Ssshe.. Evvvvvvunna ..II" Siona stuttered clutching her own body for comfort "They ttold me to follow them with refffreshments so I did. We ended up here and then she wanted to sssshoot mmme with her bbow. If it wasn't for Evuna I'd be ddddead" Siona struggled to speak 

"Thank you Siona" Mythal smiled to Siona then turned to Andruil with a stone face "Andruil I am sorry but you shall not be attending the rest of the celebration"

"WHAT YOU'RE GOING TO TAKE WHAT THAT PATHETIC SERVANT GIRL SAYS OVER ME!" Andruil began, taking a deep breath to speak more but Mythal's voice boomed over top of her.

"Yes I will as your attack upon my people, in my temple is considered an attack on me. Heed this as a warning, as next time you won't be let off so easily" Mythal threatened. At that, Andruil with anger in her eyes stormed off with magic cracking around her.

Mythal dispersed the crowd, sending them back to the ballroom. The Evanuris followed as well seeing that the entertainment had finished. Fen'harel lingered for a few moments staring at Evuna with a strange gaze then left with the rest of them till it was only Evuna and Siona in the room with Mythal.

"I am truly sorry this has happened to you both, I was dearly hoping she wasn't going to try such a thing in my temple. But she is impatient when she gets new toys" Mythal almost spits the end "You may lower you barrier now, I assure you no harm shall come to you or Siona"

Slowly Evuna lowers her barrier and sags when she finally lets go. She did not feel mana drained but felt mentally and physically tired from the fight, and the wounds leaking from her skin was sapping at her energy.

"Here let me heal you my child" Mythal spoke in a mothering tone, taking Evuna's hand. Mythal's magic sunk into her skin mending all of the cuts and bruises from battle, erasing the blood, fixing her dress, And in no time Evuna looked like nothing had happened at all. Even her weariness from the battle had left.

"Thank you Mythal" Evuna breathed in relief, then looked over to Siona silently standing there with a glazed over look, clutching her body. Without saying anything Evuna went and hugged Siona tightly, letting an eep come out of Siona in fright of the sudden hug. Releasing Siona she looked into her eyes with worry.

"How are you doing Siona? Do you want to go somewhere a bit nicer to relax perhaps?" 

"Yyeah I'd like that" Siona spoke, while Evuna looked to Mythal to excuse herself

"Do not worry my child, go and calm your friend" Mythal smiled

Evuna mouthed a thank you then led Siona away to a nearby room. The room was a sunlit lounge room with many books lining the shelves and a fireplace off to the side. She did not know if this was someones personal living area or not but they were only using it for the moment, they won't even know they were there.

Sitting down next to Siona they both sat there in relative silence. Wrapping their heads around what just happened, the reality of what Evuna had done finally sung in.

She has quite possibly angered each and every one of the Evanuris, putting a target upon her own head. She is not ready to fight such beings, she only had a years worth of fighting experience and they had a millennia. Fear crawled up her spine at the thought, a fear more intense than the others and she has been afraid many times. She was afraid of failing, of dying too early and never getting a chance to save this world from a horrible death, failing to protect the small amount of people she has grown to care about, and failing to experience what the rest of this magical world is like. 

She was quickly falling into a downward spiral from the fight. It was always the calm after the storm that broke her. But with much difficulty she swallowed the swirling emotions threatening to spill from her throat, calming her frantic breathing and wrangling herself together into a somewhat calm. She did not have time to dwell on her own emotions when Siona was suffering next to her. 

"Siona I am so sorry you were put into that situation, I should have done something before you were dragged into that situation" Evuna said holding Siona's hands to comfort her

"It wasn't your fault, it's mine. I wanted to keep an eye on Andruil in case she wanted to use her bow on you. But I didn't think about my own safety as it is forbidden for the Evanuris to attack the servants of another's temple. I guess I was wrong to think such rules would keep me safe" Siona said with her head down looking at their clasped hands

"You aren't at fault either, I.."Siona was going to say it was her fault again but stopped as it was ridiculous to continuously blame themselves for something that was entirely not their fault. What if's haunted both of their minds, causing them to think such things and Evuna needed to steer them to the true person at fault. 

"It wasn't either of our faults Siona. Don't blame yourself for something that was out of both of our control"

"But if I.."

"No. No 'what ifs' would have stopped Andruil from using her bow on either you, or another helpless servant thinking that they were safe. If anyone is at fault it is her. As she is the one that thinks killing innocent people for sport is normal. She sees the people as worthless as well as the other Evanuris. They are the ones oppressing you making you fell lesser than they are because they are your almighty 'gods'. They are not 'gods', just tyrannical fools"

"But they have always been called so ..." Siona said with a confused look

"Not always, there was a time when Mythal, Elgar'nan, Andruil and the rest of the Evanuris were as important to the people as you and I. They just have become bigots with power. Tell me Siona if they truly were gods, then how come I made Andruil bleed when I am not a god myself" Evuna explained looking to Siona, she hopes this is not what breaks their friendship but she cannot let Siona feel that it was her wrong doings that caused today's events.

"Maybe Evuna I.. this is a lot to think about, I have lived being told that they were gods all my life. But what you say.. feels true. They have never seemed like they cared for the people, but I just thought maybe that's what gods were like. I didn't even think about questioning it till now" Siona says with a frown deep in thought.

"I'm sorry to load that off on you like that but I hate seeing you blame yourself when you did nothing wrong. If you want more to go off than my word, I can give you some books from the library that say what the Evanuris were like back before they were gods? You may have to wait though as I am still reading though the last two" Evuna said with a small smile

"Those kind of books exist?" Siona said with a bit of surprise 

"Yes but I don't think anyone wanted them to be read as I found them in a room next to the library... that was locked... and seemed to be someones personal study. But the place looked abandoned so I snooped about and I found the books" Evuna mischievously smiled but Siona had a look of shock

"No one has touched that study because it was Fen'harel's Evuna! It was his when he was a sentinel for Mythal, and since he became Fen'Harel no one has touched it since. Except now! Ohh I think I'm getting a headache this is too much" Siona put her head in her hands. Siona had reached her limit of information for one day.

"I didn't know, I was just curious" Evuna looked down in thought "Siona I know this is a lot to take in but please keep it in mind" Evuna sighed, looking out the window she realised she will need to take her leave now to preform her midday song on time "I really have to go now Siona or I'm going to be late. Just promise me you'll stay safe for the rest of the day, yeah?"

"Of course I will, can't have you swooping in to save my ass again" Siona cracked a joke with a small unsure smile

And with a smile back in goodbye, Evuna was off to face the music again. She made sure to cloak herself this time to avoid nobles from stopping her from reaching her destination, and once she was upon the stage looking towards the crowd, she could only think of one song to sing. One for the people she cares for in her short life in this world so far, and so with a heavy bleeding heart she sung.

What are you afraid of  
I know that you are  
Keep it in your sights now  
And don't let it go far

What are you afraid of  
Making it better  
Keep it by your side now  
Whatever the weather  
Keep it together  
Keep it together

What did you do  
Wonder where your heart came from  
What have you done  
My only friend keep on  
Wander or leave  
Turn into winter lights  
Keeping your strength  
When it gets dark at night

What are you made of  
Water and glass  
Keep it in your sights now  
It's keeping you up  
Keep it together  
Keep it together

What did you do, wonder where  
Your heart came from  
What have you done  
My only friend keep on  
Wander or leave,  
Turn into winter lights  
Keeping your strength  
When it gets dark at night

Keep on  
Keep the straight line  
I'm running, running  
The straight line

What did you do, wonder where  
Your heart came from  
What have you done  
My only friend keep on  
Wander or leave,  
Turn into winter lights  
Keeping your strength  
When it gets dark at night

What you're feeling  
It's what I'm feeling too  
What you're made of  
It's what I'm made of too

What are you afraid of  
I know that you are  
What are you afraid of  
I know that you are

 

She was still quite angry at Andruil for what she had done but her heart wasn't in it to sing a song like that. The feeling of melancholy surrounded her for the day she has had and the days that shall come. She just hopes the ones she holds dearest to her heart just know that she is there for them. Even if that number of friends is very few.

After the song she slipped out to one of the gardens so she could finally take a breather. It was only midday but she already felt like an emotional train wreck. Her emotions wanted to burst from her throat into sobs but she would not allow it. So she sat there on a bench shrouded by shrubbery, with her head in her hands looking down at the ground in a blank stare. She was soaking up as much time she can in the relative peace she had before any nobles came to pester her.

She could hear someone approaching her, but instead of looking up she could sense it was Solas by his aura.

"Here she is, the woman who dared challenge a god and lived. They shall be telling this story for millennia to come" he spoke as he sat down next to her

"I did not challenge her, I do not want godhood. I just couldn't watch as my friend died in front of my eyes" She answered solemnly and looking up to meet his eyes "Would you truly stand there and watch the people you care about die infront of you, all because your afraid of a bit of confrontation?"

"No, I dare say I would have let them live if I were in your shoes" He growled next to her "Andruil should not have even attempted to do such a thing in Mythal's temple"

"Yet she did, and she will continue to do so. The Evanuris blood thirst has no end" Evuna said darkly, sighing she straightened herself and plastered a smile upon her face "Sorry was there something you wished to ask me before I butted in?" she didn't want to be a burden on the man she has quite literally known him for only five days. But it felt like she had known him forever and it was difficult to remember such things.

"Would you care to dance Lady Evuna" he stood up suddenly, offering his hand in a bow with a mischievous smile. Evuna's attempt at composure blew out the door at his question as she was shocked into staring at him with wide disbelieving eyes.

"You want to dance with me? Do you know how much commotion that would cause? You would be basically declaring your approval of me fighting Andruil to everyone, including the Evanuris" Evuna started rambling before she could catch herself "Andddd that's exactly what you want isn't it?" she made a small laugh.

"Precisely, and perhaps to have a bit of fun" he said with a grin

"Fine then wolf, lead the way" she said with a small smile, taking his arm as he lead her to the ball room

"As you wish" he replied in her ear sending pleasant shivers down her spine, making Evuna slightly regret agreeing to dance with him if he kept this up.

As they made their way to the dance floor the nobles were all whispering and staring at them both. They had already caused some commotion and they hadn't even begun to dance yet. Finally on the dance floor the whispers died down as the music began to play and they danced. It was a dance that begun slow with few elaborate step moves, giving plenty of time for conversing without ears overhearing. 

"I'd like to inform you I have sent a few agents to keep an eye on your friends well being, as well as your own" he informed her as the dance began

"Thank you, knowing Siona will be protected is a great relief" Evuna sighed in relief as she swirled around the dance floor with him. 

"Of course, I doubt they care much for your friend however. You are the one they have their eyes on"

"Meaning I'll most likely be having a lovely visit tonight with death, how pleasant" She said sarcastically

"No you shall not, I will not let them have the satisfaction" he growled 

"And how are you going to do that? Stare at my door all night till someone strikes? I think there are better things to do with your time then wait for prey"

"Perhaps I shall" he smirked

"Doubt it" she laughed then could not speak more as he preformed a few elaborate dance moves with Evuna, then back to a slow pace to talk again.

"I must ask who taught you to mould the fades energy? There are very few knowledgeable of such things" he questioned with the same strange face he showed her before in the court yard. Curiosity perhaps? Jealousy? Annoyance? maybe something completely different, she couldn't really tell.

"A spirit of knowledge taught me all I know. I'm afraid I'm not excellent at casting just yet but I know the theory to it" her stomach was roaring with butterflies with him so near.

"On the contrary, your indomitable focus of directing the fades energy through your body was quite refreshing to behold"

"Indomitable focus?" She could not help herself but ask, knowing just how he would respond.

Presumably, I have yet to see it dominated. I imagine that the sight would be... fascinating" he whispered the last part against the shell of her ear. Leaving her heart beating faster and her body feeling like putty in his arms. 

"Mmmmmh hhhhmmm, ahhh yes. Indeed umm" Evuna cleared her throat awkwardly "Well would you care to spar sometime then?" at Evuna's words. Solas gave her a delicious grin and the realisation of what she sounded like she said hit her.

"Your bed or mine" he spoke huskily, pressing his body against her, causing gasps from nobles watching. Evuna herself almost moaned at the act but bit her lip instead. 'Oh gods he's like sex on a stick' she thought to herself 

"I meant actually spar, in a courtyard of some sort you horny wolf" She pulled herself away to calm her racing heart "You do know how to use fade magics yourself don't you?" She asked with a smile. Solas sure was more forward here than he was anticipated to be in the dragon age, which might make it difficult for her to stay away from his alluring charms.

"Ahh yes, of course. We can spar in the courtyard whenever your available after the ball. But the offer still stands if you wish it" He spoke with a devious smile

"I'll keep that in mind" She spoke before the dance began to pick up pace, both of them began to breathe a bit harder as they exerted themselves. 

Evuna laughed as he spun her and pulled her back in. Every step felt as easy as breathing and as the dance continued, Evuna's weight upon her shoulders lifted bit by bit with the joy of dancing so freely, till she felt like she was soaring. He seemed to be enjoying himself much the same with the wide joyful smile upon his face as he danced along with her. As much as Evuna wished this moment wouldn't end, Breathlessly they finished the dance with the wolf hovering over her body.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey I'm not dead, just had a really busy month with life and work. There is a lot going on, but a lot of things can happen at a ball, and Evuna's just starting to get herself into the thick of it now. Especially since she is now known to be more than a simple singer of no value. 
> 
> Also Solas is quite open about his intentions, for as I see it the elvhen people do not see taking another to bed as taboo. They would see it more like some fun pass time pleasure. I mean living for that long? He has totally been with thousands of women in his time. But once the elvhen find the one they wish to be their mate, they are loyal to them for all time.
> 
> Song  
> London Grammar - Sights
> 
> Next  
> A night time visitor and dangerous talks ( ͡ʘ ͜ʖ ͡ʘ)


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